Every day we tie a knot on our shoes. But every day, members of the LGBTI community are refused their right to tie the knot in Australia. We decided to turn the usual act of tying shoelaces into a symbol of support for all Australians to be able to marry whoever they love. We gave all Australians the chance to say #LetUsAllTieTheKnot.

We created The Equality Knot - a unique knot, developed in collaboration with a lacing and knotting expert, that sat noticeably on the side of the shoe with an equal sign as its central feature.

We created a series of bespoke laces, each pair matching with the six colours of the rainbow flag, with instructions on how to tie the knot. These were distributed in our special edition packaging. People were encouraged to get their laces instore and online, for free, and wear it on any shoe.

#LetUsAllTieTheKnot launched on 11 October 2017 through PR and social media. Social influencers were used to amplify the initial launch and maximise our small $20,000 budget. While the Equality Knot could be tied on any shoe with any shoelace, we created bespoke shoelaces in the individual colours of the LGBT flag. These were distributed instore and online for free and drew people in.

We also produced content that explained the reason behind the campaign, celebrated the creator of the Equality Knot, and showed people how to tie it. We used instore posters to let people know our stance on the marriage equality debate and to encourage involvement. We tied the Equality Knot on all window display shoes. For the duration of the postal survey we turned our flagship stores into symbols of support, proudly making our stance known.

As the only sports and lifestyle brand in Australia to actively take a stand and play a part in this debate, PUMA put the aside and made a bold statement about a gross injustice in Australian society. And people heard it. The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives - the largest repository of historical materials about LGBTIQ experience in Australia - has included PUMA’s #LetUsAllTieTheKnot into their records. With less that $20,000 spent, the campaign reached over 1.5 million people. It reinforced PUMA’s commitment to individuality and equality. Most importantly, on 14 November 2017, Australia voted YES for marriage equality. And we’re proud that we played a part in letting all Australians tie the knot.