San Antonio Water System – Eleazar Hernandez

Behavior Change by Design: A Visual Strategy to Defeat the Grease Monster

SAWS had to develop a grease disposal education program quickly or face steep fines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We helped them face the challenge.

Deliverables: Citywide visual strategy for rapid public behavior change, Campaign concept development, Multichannel creative direction, Cross-cultural engagement strategy, Character design and IP development, Experiential design, Educational content development: comics, National campaign consultation

↓

SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM — “THE GREASE MONSTER”
A Citywide Visual Strategy That Turned a Sewer Threat Into a Blockbuster Public Health Campaign

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warned San Antonio about its lack of a grease disposal mitigation program, the city faced a massive challenge—and a looming fine. The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) had to educate residents quickly and convincingly or face federal consequences. Our agency had just been named SAWS’ new Agency of Record, and this monster of a problem was one of our first calls to action.

Challenge:
Create an engaging, citywide education campaign that drives immediate behavioral change—without boring, grossing out, or lecturing the public.

Strategy:
Activate the community with a rallying cry… a summer blockbuster-style campaign that turned bad behavior into a movie villain.

A Horror-Comedy for the Sewer System
We scrapped our early “safe” ideas (yes, even “S.O.S. — Save Our Sewers”) and went bigger, weirder, and more cinematic. Grease wasn’t just a problem; it was the villain.

Enter: The Grease Monster. A dripping, sewer-clogging menace that looked like a creature straight out of a B-movie. We leaned into the absurdity with theatrical posters, ominous warnings, and even a Nietzsche quote to remind citizens:

“He who fights monsters must take care not to become one.”
Translation: Don’t pour bacon grease down the drain, you animal.

A Campaign That Oozed Everywhere

Out-of-Home: Full bus wraps, king-size VIA transit ads, neighborhood posters, and manhole-shaped floor graphics reaching out like a sewer-based jump scare.
Theaters: Custom movie posters, point-of-sale cutouts, and pre-show teaser ads at Regal Cinemas.
Fiesta Takeover: Medals for “Grease-Fighting Heroes,” tattoos, fans, and t-shirts turned the Grease Monster into a local celebrity.
In-Classroom Activation: We created an original comic book crossover where the SAWS “H2O Heroes” battled the Grease Monster, plus activity books, bookmarks, and lesson plans. Kids became our best grease-policing allies—calling out their parents with cries of “No, Grease Monster!” at the first hint of stovetop sabotage.

Fun fact:
Five of our Grease Monster standees were stolen.
We’re still impressed.

Impact:
The campaign was so effective, SAWS extended it into a multi-year initiative. Word spread quickly: agencies in California and Canada reached out about licensing the Grease Monster for their own use. What started as a citywide education program turned into a national example of creative public health communication.

← prev