Dirty Business

To launch Channel 4’s Dirty Business, a factual drama about the heartbreaking human cost of Britain’s we wanted to raise awareness of not just the shoes but more importantly the sewage crisis at the heart of it. With a limited budget but urgent intent, we needed to make it impossible to ignore. We created The Fountain of Filth: a 10-metre installation featuring 12 bronze-like sculptures of real people affected by the issue - surfers, wild swimmers, families - vomiting sewage, while a water company boss stood above, counting his profits. The real people affected by the issue were 3D scanned, and alongside their figures, their stories could be accessed via QR codes linking to interviews - exposing the sick truth behind Britain’s sewage scandal.

Installed on London’s Southbank, it transformed a busy public space into a site of confrontation. We amplified it into a national moment, held a press conference and blurred the line between campaign and breaking news. The fountain became an unmissable and tangible symbol - shared across social, covered by national press, broadcast news and environmental activist organisations.

The result was immediate cut-through: widespread media coverage including a partnership with the guardian, millions of viewers tuning in and a mass public conversation was started that spread far beyond the show itself which even resulted in an invite to UK parliament for a screening of the show and a debate on the sewage crisis in front of MP’s and the UK water minister herself.