Deutsche Telekom parent company of T-mobile filed a lawsuit in the Danish court saying that Telia had no right to use the pink color magenta, because the German company has invested in building their branding around that color for many years.
The Danish Eastern Regional High Court ruled that Telia and DT don’t compete directly in the Danish market. They also said there was some doubt that they were using the same hue. The court to overturned the injunction DT sought against Telia and to add insult to injury slapped DT with an order to pay 1.5 million kroner ($316,188) to Telia for their court costs and attorneys’ fees. Ouch!
While you might not recognize Telia in the U.S. you might recall DT has regularly taken steps to keep competitors from using magenta in their branding. Recently I wrote about their run in with engadget.com and earlier talked about their action against Intel.
Read the original article about the court ruling (translated into Engish) here…
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
In 2008 the Chinese will officially have their chance to mix a little of their culture with the traditions of the Olympics.
For example, on the official Olympics website for 2008, one can quickly find in the Torch Relay section at the top, a banner full of red waves and, you guessed it, a red dragon. In China, a red dragon symbolizes both happiness and power and it is a red dragon that will symbolize the lighting of the flame!
In creating his vision of how China would be portrayed on the Olympic website Zhifeng mingled traditional colors with a color not represented in Feng Shui; a color not a part of Chinese culture.
The main color theme of the Olympic website for 2008 is the modern and beautiful blending of blue and green to produce teal. Teal represents a new age of modernity; a color, which right now in China represents an increased awareness of globalization. The Chinese have embraced this color and display it proudly.
Although red will never be pushed aside at the heart of Chinese culture, it will, for a while, have to share the stage with teal.
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
From today’s New York Times– MADISON AVENUE is making like Little Jack Horner, pulling out plum after plum for the presumed delectation of consumers.
Examples of how plum may become the new black for advertisers and media companies include a new Plum Card from American Express, coupon inserts in Sunday newspapers under the RedPlum name and plum-colored labels for products like Penta water.
There is also Plum TV, a channel available in resort communities; PlumChoice Online, a PC services company; and even books by Janet Evanovich featuring a character called Stephanie Plum. The titles include “Plum Lovin’ ” and “Plum Lucky” and, coming in January, according to Dori Weintraub of St. Martin’s Press, which publishes Ms. Evanovich, “Plum Spooky.”
Trend watchers suggest several reasons so many marketers seem to be going plum loco. One recurring thought is that the success of technology brands like Apple and BlackBerry is giving fruit a good name, hence the proliferation of plums as well as brands like Pinkberry and Red Mango, which are both frozen yogurts.
Plum and purple colors also “evoke royalty, sophistication,” said Tom Julian, president at the Tom Julian Group in New York, a brand consultancy.
Those shades can appeal to “the emotional side of one’s passions and interests,” he added, “the individual desire for zest and to be distinct.”
Mr. Julian traces the growing appeal of plum to fall 2005, when “the ‘luxe’ factor emerged in the designer market” and richer hues came into favor.
Continue reading on the NYTimes.com
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
How Starbucks is using a special brown logo to evoke the chain’s beginnings and restore some goodwill for the brand
The new old logo: Starbucks is temporarily using a sanitized version of its original branding on new packaging.
Brown is certainly a color that communicates coffee. So, when you order a cup of the new Pike Place coffee at Starbucks this week, it doesn’t seem out of place to see a special brown logo on the cup and paper sleeve. Except that, as everyone knows, Starbucks’ iconic logo is green. So why change such a successful corporate symbol?
The image of the twin-tailed mermaid inside the brown medallion harkens back to the chain’s 1971 beginnings. The logo has evolved over the years, going from brown to green in 1987.
This is the second time in three years Starbucks has trotted out the brown mermaid, inspired by a Norse woodcut. Back in 2006, she was resurrected to mark the chain’s 35th anniversary. This time, she is a messenger…Read the whole story on BusinessWeek.com
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
Cadbury Schweppes launched a civil case in the Australian courts in an attempt to stop rival retailer Darrell Lea from using dark purple in its marketing.
After five years and millions of dollars in legal fees the Federal Court ruled that Cadbury does not own the color and is not entitled to the exclusive use of dark purple.
Cadbury maintains its position and is likely to appeal.
Hear the ABC News interview here…
What do you think? Should Cadbury be able to protect their brand color?
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
From an article by Kirsty Dunphey on smartcompany.com.au…
It’s all about what that splash of colour reminds us of. Whether it says quality, style, value, exclusivity or something else, the tiny splash of colour speaks to us.
When someone sees your splash of colour – be it on your logo, your corporate branding, your uniform, your office walls, your signage, your business card – what does it signify to them? What does it remind them to remember about your company, your business, your brand?
Read the article…
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
Deutsche Telekom, owners of the global T-Mobile brand, sent Engadget a late birthday present: a hand-delivered letter direct from their German legal department requesting the prompt discontinuation of the use of the color magenta on Engadget Mobile. Continue reading on Engadget Mobile…
Vero on Taptology responded by posting the following:
“I bow down to Engadget’s creative response. Note the header changes:”
I thought you would enjoy it has much as I did. For more comments from Vero at Taptology see ‘The Campaign to Set Magenta Free’…
And an additional post on engadget.com…
Thanks to reader Dave for sending me the link to this post on Owning Color…
(One comment so far) · Bookmark this post
It’s March 17th and for those of us that are Irish and those that wanna be (at least for one day a year) it’s ‘the wearing of the green’ in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
Americans have been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day since the 1850’s. But if you’re knowledge of Irish history only goes as deep as a mug of green beer you might be surprised to learn that in Ireland this holiday is not celebrated as wildly as in the U.S. and that there is not a historic connection between green and St. Patrick.
It is only in modern times that green has become associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Blue, not green, is the color long associated with St. Patrick.
A green shamrock was a symbol that St. Patrick had used to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish and ‘the wearing of the green’ meant to wear a shamrock to display your faith.
It is widely believed that beginning in the mid-1700’s people mistook the phrase to mean wearing green garments and we all know the rest of the story…the wearing of green has become ubiquitous with St. Patrick’s Day.
In fact green has become so strongly attached not just to this holiday but to Ireland many believe that it is the ‘official’ color of the country. While there is no official color two hues of blue, St. Patrick’s Blue and Presidential Blue are widely used by the Government of Ireland.
Presidential Blue is darker than St. Patrick’s Blue and both can be seen the football (soccer) uniforms of Dublin County and the liveries of Aer Lingus. Presidential Blue appears in the Irish Crest and St. Patrick’s Blue can be seen behind the gold bardic harp on on the ancient Irish flag.
So while I’ll still be ‘wearing the green’ today my heart will be ‘true blue’ all the way down to my Irish roots.
PS- I can’t help but wonder if the green really came about when the first creative pub owner tried to make blue beer. Blue food color + yellow beer…oops! Hmm, how can we spin this? Can’t let all that good beer go to waste! ☺
Happy St. Paddy’s Day
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
‘Green’ has become synonymous with the environmental movement so naturally companies around the globe are using the term ‘green’ and the color green to communicate that their practices and products are environmentally friendly.
Overuse of this color however coupled with the fact that many companies that claim to be ‘green’ do not in fact follow environmentally sound practices (also known as ‘greenwashing’) has reduced the positive impact of this color.
Companies looking to differeniate thenselves are choosing to use blue to communicate their commitment to the environment and as Ann Mack of JWT put it so beautifully, “represent a much broader spirit of good citizenship”.
With growning concerns over having sufficient clean water and clean air to support the global population blue, a color associated with the the ocean and sky, is a natural choice.
Add to this the fact that blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable, and committed and it simply makes sense that forward thinking companies like Mercedes-Benz that want to distance thenselves from ‘greenwashing’ and be seen above the glut of green have chosen to incorporate blue into their ‘green’ marketing. For example Mercedes-Benz coine the term Bluetec for their clean diesel fuel technology.
VW also uses blue. BlueMotion badge is an environmental sub-brand, denoting the most efficient model in each VW car range. But it’s not just automakers but also the French government that are going blue rather than green.
Blue will not replace green as the color of nature but in 2008 the color will be seen with closer associations to the enviroment and global issues.
Blue will also be a color that is influencial in many other areas. Pantone named blue the color of the year for 2008 and as we ushered in the new year many hues of blue from sky to navy were already appearing in home and fashion stores everywhere.
Related links:
Pantone 2008 color of the year…
Automakers going green with blue…
Are consumers being greenwashed…
Health conscious buyers attracted to blue…
JWT predicts trends to watch in 2008…
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
The New York Times has an excellent slide show called “Reading Tea Leaves and Campaign Logos”.
Below are two of 15 cartoons. See the slide show here…
(No comments yet) · Bookmark this post
