By Robert Goldrich

SAN FRANCISCO --

Though it wasn’t yet at liberty to publicly discuss the specifics at press time, DDB Worldwide, San Francisco, has been contacted by several media networks interested in airing The Reverse Graffiti Project, a documentary short made on behalf of client GreenWorks, an environmentally safe line of cleaning products from Clorox.
    Noted documentary filmmaker Doug Pray of Oil Factory, Los Angeles, directed and edited The Reverse Graffiti Project, a three-and-a-half minute piece which has generated hundreds of thousands of hits and considerable buzz on the web. The DDB project underscores the changing media landscape as this docu-short with a relatively modest budget has made a significant impact first locally, then nationally and now internationally on the Internet to the point where mainstream television exposure now appears to be in the offing–and we’re not talking purchased media time but rather content that will air on the strength of its pro-green informational and entertainment value.
    The documentary centers on Paul “Moose” Curtis, a pioneer of the art form “clean tagging” whereby dirt is cleaned off surfaces in public places to create shapes, designs, collages and words (through the use of letter stencils) conveying positive messages. DDB had been looking for the right fit to promote consumer trust in green cleaning products and ultimately found Curtis whose “reverse graffiti” philosophy, said agency group creative director Dustin Smith, is simpatico with many of the core brand values of GreenWorks.
    DDB brought Curtis from the U.K. to San Francisco to create a mural. After scouting for the proper venue, Curtis and the agency decided on S.F.’s Broadway Tunnel (140 feet long and at his highest point 20 feet tall), which was ideal due to its cement surface and the type of soot that once removed would give way to a clean, high contrast surface.
    Originally DDB thought its staffers would shoot the mini-documentary themselves guerrilla style with digital cameras. But Frank Brooks, DDB San Francisco director of production (and producer on this job along with Mia Lischer), pushed for the agency to go after an accomplished filmmaker. Pray got the nod for his documentary pedigree, which included the 2006 release Infamy, a journey into the lives and minds of six notorious graffiti writers.
    DDB first built local interest in the project, getting Bay Area TV news outlets to cover the creation of the “Moose” mural, a process which took place on a mid-April day from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
    DDB posted pictures of the local coverage online to generate a local buzz. The documentary then made its debut on YouTube on June 11. “The notoriety of Doug Pray, the quality of his work, and the involvement of a known pioneer like Moose helped drive news and chatter,” related DDB San Francisco’s Smith. “But we were a bit nervous. It’s one thing to pass a :15 or :30 whacky film around virally. People laugh and send it to a bunch of their friends. However, we were dealing with a fairly serious three-and-a-half minute documentary–we wondered if people would indeed pass it on, will they even care?”
    DDB initiated a grass-roots effort with agency folk emailing bloggers to check out this cool film about reverse graffiti. At first it was a slow process. “The pot was boiling but slowly–we got a couple thousand hits at first,” recalled Smith. A pivotal breakthrough came when DDB got the word out via the Wooster Collective blog, representing a site geared toward alternative art forms and trends. Wooster has a European following. Then soon smaller blogs in the U.S. and internationally began to draw from it. In a week, there were some 70,000 hits and the traffic has continued to grow. At press time there were some 434,000 views and around 230 blogs in the mix, which are stellar numbers for a three-and-a-half-minute piece.
    GreenWorks has a minimal presence in the short, the thrust of which is documenting Curtis and his artistic philosophy as he creates a greenscape in a dirty urban environment. The notion of a clean green space has resonated with viewers.
    “It’s given GreenWorks a street cred of sorts,” assessed Smith. “Blogs you might think would be negative about a ‘corporate’ message are instead saying positive things. We’re not trying to fool anybody with this film. You know up front that GreenWorks is involved, making this mural a gift to the San Francisco community. Blog feedback is along the lines of, ‘We wish more corporations would talk like this to people.’ We’re seeing people picking up on this documentary and looking to share it with others–and similarly there are network outlets that are now looking to run it as well.”
    The GreenWorks line of eco-friendly, plant and mineral-based cleaning products was launched nationally in January.
    The DDB team on The Reverse Graffiti Project consisted of chief creative officer Lisa Bennett, group CD Smith, director of production/producer Brooks, producer Lischer, copywriter Jon Lancaric, art director Natalie Chambers, interactive producer Alli Taylor, designers Matthiew Brajot and John Gordon.
    The DP was Malcolm Murray. Composer was Garron Chang.

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