Our idea was to bring together two iconic elements from Sir Peter’s story - his instantly recognisable face, and his lucky red socks - to create a unique piece of public art in the heart of downtown Auckland.

Noted street and stencil artist Component created a striking stencil portrait of Sir Peter then, using over 3,000 socks, hand-crafted the mural live and in public.

The desired outcome was visibility for Red Socks Day, drawing in passing commuters and hopefully achieving visibility through network TV coverage and social media sharing.

Sir Peter’s portrait came to life in front of thousands in downtown Auckland, tens of thousands online through blogs and social media, and over half a million people experienced it via live news coverage from New Zealand’s largest television network.

The artwork itself was created with a modest budget, and yet the media coverage it earned was equivalent to 27 times the PR budget for the project. Both Westpac and the Sir Peter Blake Trust were inundated with positive comments from stakeholders, customers and members of the public.

Overwhelmingly, the Red Sock Mural achieved massive visibility with minimal investment.