by thesavageway | Feb 16, 2026 | clean graffiti
Patagonia, Diet Coke, The Rolling Stones, Lululemon, Talkspace, Greenpeace, PETA Use Creative Advertising
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
– Clean Graffiti offers large companies a unique approach to outdoor advertising, by using the sidewalk to target their target market.
– The Savage Way has worked with the likes of Coca-Cola, Patagonia, The Rolling Stones, Lululemon, Talkspace, Greenpeace and PETA on Clean Graffiti campaigns across the country.
– This media buy helps elevate a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility. It also shows innovation and creativity to use dirt as an asset. We are excited to continue to work with brands that understand that there are different media options out there.
Clean Graffiti has been a wonderful addition to our client’s marketing mix. There are traditional out-of-home advertising options like static billboards and posters, bus stop ads, digital billboards, transit ads, street furniture and wildpostings that work to get a message across. But occasionally a client needs a unique approach to a campaign and that is where Clean Graffiti comes into play. By utilizing the sidewalk, Clean Graffiti allows an option to target clients in a non-traditional way – right where they are walking every single day.
Over the years, we have had the pleasure of working with a variety of major companies on different Clean Graffiti campaigns across the country. Below we will go over a few of the memorable projects for the brands that we all know so well.
Diet Coke: We completed a four-city Clean Graffiti tour on behalf of Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. We were busy putting down our eco-friendly outdoor advertising medium in Baltimore, MD, Memphis, TN, Greensboro, NC and Charlotte, NC.
Patagonia: Patagonia is far beyond just an accomplished outdoor retailer. They are the kind of company that inspires us to our core. They care deeply about the environment and their impact on Mother Nature. As a certified B Corp since 2012, Patagonia cemented its commitment to environmental and socially responsible practices – and it’s found in everything they do.
In recent years, we were able to create Clean Graffiti campaigns in Charlotte, NC for the South End store ( twice), Baltimore, MD for the Fells Point store (twice), Atlanta, GA for the ATL Beltline store and Nashville, TN for the 601 Overton St location.
Lululemon: Lululemon is a global luxury apparel company that is also dedicated to supporting and manifesting lifestyles for men and women while also building a community with like minded individuals. Our partnership with Lululemon grew out of a desire for us to “pave the way” into a new year with a fresh, out of the box campaign. Enter Clean Graffiti. Lululemon wanted to reach out to the collective runners of Charlotte who run to feel grounded and leave a workout feeling inspired. Since Lululemon’s goal was to encourage runners to hit the sidewalks throughout the winter months, our partnership naturally turned to connecting the dots within the Charlotte community. We were able to link Lululemon with local run clubs and some of the awesome runners this city has to offer.
Greenpeace: Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organization that acts to change attitudes and behavior, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace. Our Clean Graffiti initiative was one piece of the #IStand4Solar story. We were able to create a template that embodied the solar message, art and one that sparked engagement. Our interactive piece encouraged pedestrians to put their feet in the art and take a picture.
The Rolling Stones: This campaign was such a beautiful use of our eco-friendly medium. Since the Rolling Stones are so iconic and everyone associates the “mouth” with this band, the stencil could be kept clean and simple. No words, no call to action – just a teaser that also acts as brand awareness. And to utilize the sidewalks where potential concert-goers are walking everyday is the perfect new way to reach their audience.
Talkspace: Talkspace is an online mental health platform that makes it easy to talk to connect with a licensed therapist in a convenient & secure way from the comfort of your phone – whenever, wherever. They have simplified the approach to mental health, and we are here for it.
Together, we partnered on a Clean Graffiti campaign in two major US cities, Los Angeles, CA and Austin, TX. “Healing is a journey, every step counts.” @Talkspace. This simple, direct message on the sidewalk communicates to the public that mental health should be a priority and that anything that you are doing to heal is a step in a positive direction.
PETA: We did a Clean Graffiti campaign for the animal rights organization, PETA (People for the Ethical Rights of Animals), in Austin, TX surrounding the use of forced monkey labor with certain Whole Foods Thai Coconut Milk products. We placed spots around Whole Foods and their corporate headquarters in order for PETA to bring awareness to this injustice. This truly grass roots effort was a great way for this activist organization to bring awareness to an important animal cause.
In Summary
It’s amazing to witness these huge corporations embrace an alternative advertising avenue such as Clean Graffiti. Seeing Big Business use some of their marketing dollars in a green and sustainable way is something we are definitely here for!
Not only does this media buy help elevate the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility, it also shows innovation and creativity to use dirt as an asset. We are excited to continue to work with brands that understand that there are different media options out there. Our Clean Graffiti lets you directly target where your audience is walking every single day – the sidewalk. It is a subtle, unexpected message that can bring a smile to your customers face.
by thesavageway | Jun 18, 2024 | clean graffiti
Killingsworth Environmental, the pest control company, used Clean Graffiti to creatively capture the attention of pedestrians in Charlotte, NC. In two separate campaigns, we were able to get clever about pest issues in our city. With eye-catching creative and the use of vanity URLs (CLTRats.com and CLTBugs.com), Killingsworth captured the audience and quickly directed them to a website that lays out an action item.
Two Campaigns
“What’s the deal with all the rats?!” (We can’t help but hear this in the voice of Jerry Seinfeld). But seriously, Charlotte has seen an increase in the rat population. Killingsworth is working hard to fix that issue with their new eco-friendly rodent clean up system called SMART. When the client reached out, we knew that this would be such a natural fit with the Killingsworth brand.
CLTBugs.com was the second campaign and again we had an eye-catching, creative message with a short and memorable URL. The goal was to drive people to a website to sign up for pest control services. “THEY’RE HERE…” with a bunch of bugs “crawling” on the sidewalk definitely grabs a pedestrian’s attention.
Why it Works
Clean Graffiti is a great addition to an overall marketing plan. Killingsworth is an established company (founded in 1993). They have market familiarity and they advertise in other spaces. Using a guerilla marketing tactic is a fun extension of the usual advertising initiatives. With Clean Graffiti, our client can reach their audience in a totally new space, the sidewalk, and leave a lasting impression with a clever message. When you see “What’s the deal with all the rats?” it makes you pause, analyze the question and go to CLTRats.com to learn more. It’s intriguing, clever and eco-friendly to boot.
We love the originality of these stencils and really appreciate how the Killingsworth team was open to the out-of-the-box nature of our advertising medium. Honored to get this awesome message from our client:
“To speak to the effectiveness of the campaign, I happened to mention rats this Wednesday while at Rhino Market and one of the staff members stopped me to ask if I had seen the “rat problem website on the sidewalks”. We appreciate your extra effort in making this campaign a success, especially last minute. It’s made CLTRats.com one of our most popular landing pages. (It ended the year as our second most popular page behind the homepage). Most importantly, it’s helped us make Charlotte a healthier place for everyone. We continue to see results from this campaign and look forward to working together more this year.” – Tessa Shoe, Marketing Manager of Killingsworth.
To learn more about Killingsworth and their services, head to their website.
by thesavageway | Apr 24, 2024 | clean graffiti
Ever since our hometown (Charlotte, NC) got a Major League Soccer team (shout out Charlotte FC), we have all been feeling the soccer hype. So, when we got a call from a large agency that works with United Stated Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer), we knew were going for goal.
We worked with You Are Here Agency, a sponsorship and activation agency, on a Clean Graffiti campaign for the U.S. Soccer & The U.S. Women’s National Team’s “SheBelieves Cup” in Atlanta, GA. This tournament hosting international teams was a major moment for women’s soccer, and YAH Agency wanted to bring more attention to the upcoming game. That is where Clean Graffiti came in as the perfect advertising companion.
We ran a campaign throughout the city of Atlanta that helped drive traffic to the SheBelieves Cup website. The spots were placed in popular walking areas throughout busy neighborhoods. With a goal of general awareness, along with ticket sales, our eco-friendly sidewalk advertising became a great way to grab the attention of potential customers in an unexpected way.
More about SheBelieves:
“Inspired by the U.S. Women’s National Team, SheBelieves is a movement to encourage young women and girls to reach their dreams, athletic or otherwise. The campaign was originally launched in the run-up to the 2015 Women’s World Cup and has evolved into a special bond between U.S. Soccer and its fans, taking a powerful message of empowerment and that of believing in yourself into communities across the nation.”
The 2024 SheBelieves Cup, presented by Visa, featured the USWNT, Brazil, Canada and Japan. The USA defeated Japan in a semifinal 2-1, and captured its fifth consecutive and seventh overall SheBelieves Cup title, defeating Canada 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout following a 2-2 draw through regulation. (source from U.S. Soccer website)
We absolutely love what this organization stands for. We need more empowerment, utilization of resources and encouragement for women and young girls. And we are honored to be able to have contributed to the marketing of this event with our Clean Graffiti (aka reverse graffiti).
by thesavageway | Feb 29, 2024 | clean graffiti
We were honored to create a Clean Graffiti campaign for the recent Charlotte Marathon in Charlotte, NC. Using our specialized stencils, high-pressure water and dirty sidewalks, we created motivational moments for runners. Also, we gave sponsors a new opportunity for visibility.
The Novant Health Charlotte Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K is a huge running event in the Southeast. Taking place throughout Uptown Charlotte and our beautiful surrounding neighborhoods, runners take to the streets on a massive physical feat. When you are running 26.2 miles, a little motivation is helpful.
In the months leading up to race day we put down “You can do this”and “Find your happy pace” motivational Clean Graffiti messages all around the Queen City. It was so awesome to hear from runners that they would come across one of the reverse graffiti images and simply smile and keep going. This eco-friendly form of outdoor advertising is a great way for sponsors, like Novant Health, to get their name out in a new and different way.
Clean Graffiti was the perfect, unexpected way to advertise for the marathon. Runners take to the sidewalks every single day to train. What better way to reach these customers than to be a motivation for them?! A marathon is a milestone race in a person’s life. It’s pretty cool that the race organizers believe so strongly in positive, motivational messages like Clean Graffiti.
Thanks to our friends at Well-Run Media for bringing us into this project. It’s wonderful to have partners who love and respect our offerings. The Well-Run Media crew is always open to fun campaign ideas for their clients.
If you are interested in running the 2024 Charlotte Marathon, you can find all the registration information here.
by thesavageway | Aug 1, 2023 | clean graffiti
Hello! This is Paula Bartlett, one of the owners of The Savage Way. I write these blogs but today wanted to share the story of how we brought Clean Graffiti to life from my perspective. Enjoy.
We get asked daily, “What exactly is Clean Graffiti?” Ten years in and we’re still fortunate enough to explain this disruptive outdoor advertising medium to people. And it’s just as exciting every time! However, I don’t think we’ve ever shared how Clean Graffiti came about for us. So here is the story of how we brought Clean Graffiti to life.
Prior to The Savage Way, Torrie worked in the marketing and advertising industry. She spent 10 years in media buying for a few different employers. She was responsible for managing budgets and getting as much unique exposure for her clients as possible. So her brain was always thinking in ads; looking at billboards, magazine ads, bus ads, etc. Well one day she was pressure washing the driveway at her parent’s house and free-handed the name “Savage.” (pressure washing the dirt away to leave the “cleaned” letters showing). Immediately her brain thought, “That would be a great ad, but it would have to be crisp and follow brand standards.”
She did what we all do when we have an idea and Googled it, sure enough, there was an artist in Europe (Paul Curtis aka Moose) who was pressure washing art onto old, dirty walls. The results were beautiful. Using mother nature to create art was a revolutionary idea to her. Fast forward a few years, The Savage Way started. At the time we were a marketing agency helping clients with social media, business openings, community engagement, etc. Torrie casually mentioned this sidewalk advertising idea to me one day and I said, “What are we doing?! This is incredible. Let’s do that!” Immediately we started researching and trying to see how we could bring this idea to life. I remember countless late nights in Torrie’s loft in the NoDa neighborhood in Charlotte, NC where we would just dream and talk about how we would do this out-of-the-box idea.
But before we could even work out all the details, an opportunity knocked on our door. We were introduced to a marketing legend in Charlotte, Blair Primis. He was the VP of Marketing for a privately owned orthopedic surgeons office. Blair was open to new ideas and always looking for ways to make his brand stand out. And I’ll never forget sitting down with him to pitch some ideas and seeing the light in his eyes and smile on his face when we told him our idea. “Genius,” he said. “I want the biggest option you’ve got.” WHAT?! To have someone believe in your idea when you haven’t even physically done a campaign yet… it was the exact boost that we needed.
We left that meeting saying give us a few months to figure this thing out and we will be ready to go. Torrie and I worked with such passion and excitement to bring this idea to fruition. When the day came to see our stencil (the first iteration) being pressure washed onto the sidewalk, we did a little happy dance. This was real. Clean Graffiti was a thing. A major brand was paying us to advertise on this untapped asset that Mother Nature created. It was all so thrilling.
No one tells you how tricky it is to start a business that is disruptive to the space. No one was doing what we were doing and it was a lot of trial and error to land where we did. To say we were green was an understatement. We went through so many iterations of the stencil, how we selected spots, how many spots to offer, and how to price this service no one knew they wanted. But selling this to clients was something that Torrie did have experience in. Her decade of media buying allowed us to know what a client would be looking for. It gave us insight into crafting these packages that could compete with billboard buys and other outdoor advertising opportunities.
So we kept going and focused on selling Clean Graffiti to clients. Along the way we have carved our own path and had the chance to really grow this industry. One of our European counterparts, Jim Bowes, happened to be in Nashville, TN early on and made a road trip from Charlotte, NC to chat with him on his experiences doing “Reverse Graffiti” (what he called it). It was so fun to talk shop with someone who got it and was dealing with similar hurdles. Read more about it in our blog from 2014. I never thought in a million years that Torrie and I would be strategically cleaning sidewalks for a living. Haha – it makes us laugh every time that we see dirty concrete, “Oh, thats a fantastic canvas!”
That was over ten years ago. Since then, we’ve completed work in 70+ cities across the US including Los Angeles, CA, Portland, OR, Vancouver, WA, New York, NY, Chicago, IL, Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Baltimore, MD, Austin, TX, Houston, TX, and countless other cities and towns across the country. We’ve worked with companies/brands like Diet Coke, The Rolling Stones, Carolina Panthers, Truist Bank, The ACC Tournament, Novant Health, county & state agencies and so many more.
Now you may be asking why do our clients use Clean Graffiti? There are a myriad of reasons, but a few to note:
- Unexpected: In our overstimulated world, seeing a message on the ground is novel and captures attention.
- Longevity: Spots can last from one month to over 6 months, depending on the type of dirt, weather, traffic, etc.
- Creative: Using dirt to create a brand message is so far out of the norm that it doesn’t fit in a box.
- It’s Just Water: Our medium is eco-friendly in that is is made just using water – no paint, acid, bleach or etching.
- Temporary: Clients love it for an event-driven ad campaign where we remove the spots after the event date.
- Impactful: The sidewalk is an untapped resource that allows for brand awareness, inspiration or event-driven info where it’s never been before.
We always love telling the story of how we brought Clean Graffiti to life. We believe in this medium and know that our innovation is sparking creative ideas and sending out inspiration all of the time. We’re ready when you are to clean some sidewalks!
