Merck put blood-in-urine warnings where men pee, in Banksy-style graffiti

Bladder cancer's most common early warning is blood in urine, yet most people do not know the sign, so the disease is often found late. Merck wanted to make the symptom impossible to ignore without lecturing anyone.

VML Milan created 'The Peeing People', a series of stencil graffiti styled after Banksy — an artist everyone recognizes and photographs. The figures appear mid-stream in the places where nature calls: alleyways, sidewalks and public restrooms, with blood visible in the urine stream.

Each artwork pairs the shock of the image with a QR code that leads to an awareness site where the viewer can read about the symptom and book an appointment with a doctor. The placement does the targeting: the audience is already in the situation the message describes.

The campaign ran across cities and countries, using the street as media, and turned a taboo subject into something people stopped, stared at and photographed — which multiplied its reach.

Put the warning where the symptom is seen

Putting the warning at urinals reaches the exact body moment the symptom concerns.

The Banksy-style art gets photographed and shared, turning the ad into earned media.

A QR code converts curiosity into a direct appointment-booking action.

No clinical imagery or lecturing is needed; the medium demonstrates the message.

Place the message at the exact moment and place the symptom appears; the medium itself diagnoses.

The work made the Cannes Lions 2025 Pharma shortlist, won a D&AD Wood Pencil and One Show recognition, and became one of Merck's most impactful cancer awareness campaigns.