Mr. Trash Wheel

WE CREATED AN INTERNET CELEBRITY, CULTURAL LANDMARK, AND BELOVED GLOBAL ICON FOR OCEAN CONSERVANCY

Mr. Trash Wheel was Discovery Channel’s #1 Story of the Year, had 1.2 million impressions on Twitter in a single day, achieved the #1 spot on the front page of Reddit during a viral AMA appearance, was featured in National Geographic’s print edition, has been touted as the "most beloved and sensible anti-plastic pollution mechanism in the country" by the New Yorker, and has become Internet famous while raising millions of dollars for the client.

When Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore’s Healthy Harbor launched the Inner Harbor Water Wheel, an innovative garbage interceptor that resides at the mouth of the Jones Falls River, an early video of the device in action gained traction online.

Waterfront Partnership sought out What Works Studio for ideas on how to build on the momentum and further engage audiences around their mission.

A true collaboration, the team at What Works Studio brought the water wheel to life. We developed a story and content around the life and times of Mr. Trash Wheel and gave him a home online. Justin Allen conceptualized the character and came up with the name, Brooke Hall added his first set of googly eyes, and Natan Lefkowitz was his first social media voice and came up with his tagline “likes tires not broccoli.” Shannon Light Hadley shaped the early personality of Mr. Trash Wheel and the MTW logo, art and many memes were designed by Kelly Louise Barton.

We imagined that if we personified the water wheel and added story elements, it would eventually develop an organic narrative of its own. (For anyone wondering, his father was a garbage truck and his mother was a riverboat.)

Now Mr. Trash Wheel is a famous international icon for ocean conservancy and drives major awareness for environmental issues.

What Works Studio conceptualized the Mr. Trash Wheel social media persona to engage and entertain, and we’re proud that Mr. Trash Wheel has became known and adored throughout the world.

”The most beloved and sensible anti-plastic- pollution mechanisms in the country.”

-The New Yorker

Both Mr. Trash Wheel and Light City are two of the greatest stories to come out of Baltimore in recent years and neither would have been possible without What Works."

-Adam Lindquist, Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore

Outcomes

Discovery Channel’s #1 story of the year

#1 on the front page of Reddit - AMA
Featured in hundreds of publications, including National Geographic’s April 2016 print edition
1.2 million impressions on Twitter in a single day
Raised over $500,000 for a second water wheel
Received unsolicited $40,000 grant from a foundation via Reddit
Thousands of T-shirts and merch sold
Received tweets in Hindi, Chinese, Norwegian, German, and others
Now a “tourist attraction” - Visitors from around the world stop to visit Mr. Trash Wheel
Inspired real-life googly eyes installed on the actual water wheel device
Inspired a Mr. Trash Wheel line of beer
Inspired more Trash Wheel personas including Professor Trash Wheel
Inspired Halloween costumes, artwork, original songs, video games, and so much more.