The Oil bucket challenge
I won the Clean Creatives Unpitch Fossil Fuels contest with a campaign called The Oil Bucket Challenge.
In April 2025, Clean Creatives held their first Un-Pitch contest.
Hundreds of creatives applied to compete.
50 were accepted.
We were split into nine teams.
I pitched an idea to my team.
Then I presented the idea to the judges.
Then we won.
Here’s how.
The Brief
Finding the Winning Idea
I spent a week filling my little red notebook with dozens of ideas.
Narrowed them down to the six best ones.
Called my social media manager at 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday (somehow she both answered and didn’t want to murder me) to practice my pitches.
Headed to the contest. Met my team.
But didn’t pitch even one of my prepared ideas.
One of my teammates said, “It’d be cool if we could make something viral like the Ice Bucket Challenge.”
And I said, “Like, the Oil Bucket Challenge?”
Tom Christmann, our team lead, said, “Stop. That’s brilliant. Let’s get to work.”
And we did.
Our Pitch
We Won!
Activations:
Over the next few months, I biked around NYC with a bucket, fake oil, and a tarp.
I ruined the clothes of the best indie creatives in the city.
I’ve been volunteering with Clean Creatives ever since.
