The Great British Sh*tstorm

10.06.2025

As designers, we believe in the power of visual communication to provoke thought, ignite emotion, and drive change. That’s why we created a bold and unsettling campaign to confront an issue that can no longer be ignored: the relentless discharge of raw sewage into our rivers and seas by water companies.

Our campaign reimagines the iconic charm of classic British seaside posters – once symbols of idyllic holiday escapes – as disturbing reflections of a grim new reality. With evocative headlines that twist familiar seaside phrases into stark warnings, each poster is a pastiche of 1930s railway art, subverted with a dystopian lens. At first glance, the scenes feel nostalgic and inviting. Look closer, and the toxic truth emerges.

These jarring juxtapositions are reinforced by hard-hitting statistics that expose the scale of the environmental abuse. The facts are staggering – and worsening. By pairing romanticised imagery with brutal reality, we aim to shake viewers from complacency and spotlight a crisis hidden in plain sight.

Created by our latest design recruit, Charlie, this campaign lives not just on walls, but across social media too – because the outrage needs to spread as widely as the pollution itself. As creatives, we couldn’t stay silent. This is our protest – one print, one post, one powerful message at a time.

Want to help stir up some sh*t? Join the fight to clean up our waterways by getting involved with SurfersAgainstSewage