I have always been fascinated by the power and impact of color in branding and marketing. Just think of the famous brands that are represented, even defined, by a signature color:

• IBM — Blue, of course. In fact, the company is known as "Big Blue"
• American Express — Also, blue. AmEx’s famous logo is called the "Blue Box"
• UPS — Brown. Remember UPS’s recent tagline, "What can brown do for you?" (I always thought that was borderline creepy)
• John Deere – Green. In fact, in the tractor/construction machinery business, the different competitors’ lines are all designated by a distinctive color (Ford: Blue; Massey-Ferguson: Red; Caterpillar: Yellow; and Deere’s famous Green, etc.)
• Kodak — Yellow (are they even still around?)
• FedEx — Purple (Yahoo! is also a well known purple brand)
• McDonald’s — Yellow, represented by the famed Golden Arches
• Ferrari — Red (it is actually called Ferrari Red)
• Pittsburgh Steelers — Black (with other colors too, but black is the primary color in this, my all time favorite NFL uniform and helmet logo)
• KTM Motorcycles – Orange (also my firm THUNDER FACTORY’s signature color!)

As you can see, color can be — and frequently is — critically important in signaling a brand’s presence and personality. With many of the above referenced examples, you barely even need to see the brand name to know which one it is. The color quickly registers in your brain as standing for that well known brand . When a color becomes that much of a brand identifier, it can have a powerful and positive effect in the market.

Even holidays have colors. Halloween is of course famous for black and orange. St. Patrick’s day is Kelly green and Christmas is universally known for its bright red color on everything (a bit of green thrown in, too, but mostly red).

But, in what could be the biggest upset in color branding history, that might be about to change. A new movement is afoot to transform the traditional Christmas holiday red into a very festive — and very different — orange. This is a pretty serious effort, led by a rag tag group of marketing revolutionaries (I have sworn not to divulge their identities in return for getting the exclusive back story on their historic Red to Orange campaign). Who knows, it might even work.

Full disclosure: Orange is my favorite color. Consequently, I am rooting for this guerilla campaign. I have loved orange since my early days growing up in the Washington, DC suburbs, in an era when orange was having its first heyday. I have been seeking out this crazy, high profile color ever since. Why this obsession with the color orange? To me, it is happy, lively, warm and a little kitschy (and I appreciate kitsch in most of its forms). I do have to agree with the Red to Orange team…Orange looks to be "the new Red."

Here are some great examples of the power of orange (as a color, it kind of rules!):

• My 1969 Camaro Z/28 in "Hugger Orange" (runners up are the famously orange Pontiac "Judge" from the late sixties and the bright orange 1971 Dodge Challenger with a Hemi engine, of course)
• A classic early seventies Italian Laverda motorcycle in orange
• A new Lamborghini Gallardo in orange
• The Cleveland Browns orange helmet (no logo, just orange…that is enough!). The Cincinnati Bengals tiger stripe helmet also has a nice orange, as does the University of Tennessee (love that big orange "T")
• Many love the signature burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns, but I am not a fan (of the color that is…the team has always earned my respect)
• The Orange checking account from ING Direct (great branding!)
• The orange Cingular logo, before AT&T acquired it and dumped it…too bad
• The orange Eames chairs that are all over my office (stop by, you’ll see!)
• The big round orange rotating ball that was the signature of the original 76 gas stations (regrettably, 76 is getting rid of the big rotating balls, which have now become collectors’ items)
• European plastic design from the sixties and seventies, when orange was all the rage
• Crate and Barrel’s new CB2 store, which is rather obsessed with the color orange (in a good way, of course)
• The famous Harley Davidson XR 750 dirt track racer of the ’70s in that wonderfully bright orange and white striping…now that is the orange bike of all time
• My dear friend Roseann in London reminded me of Orange, the UK mobile phone company (they, who own the URL orange.com). Orange is a pretty impressive company. Roseann sent me a couple of their TV spots. The Snoop Dogg ad is funny, but the Patrick Swayze spot is brilliant!

So, orange is the new brand and design color of choice. It is not just a fad (I’ve been following it for years), it’s a true keeper. If the Red to Orange guys and gals have their way, it might even become the preferred winter holiday hue. Santa could use the wardrobe color upgrade. Red and black is so 20s.

What do you most like about orange? Share your examples of orange brands and cultural icons. Of course, if you despise orange, let us know about that, too. We know a good 12-step program for you, Orange Haters’ Anonymous.

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