Color by numbers

American Demographics, Feb 1, 2002

How do you sell margarine - stodgy, wholesome margarine - to today's kids? How do you even get their attention in a supermarket saturated with gimmicks and product extensions? "They're always looking for something exciting," says Parkay spokeswoman Gwen Stansu. One answer: color.

"We knew we wanted to introduce a color product. It's been a big trend with kids since the blue M & M," says Stansu. So Parkay tried out margarine in blue, pink, green and purple. "When we tested four different colors in focus groups, kids had a blast." What Parkay didn't expect was that when electric blue and shocking pink margarine emerged as clear favorites, many girls chose blue, and boys even picked pink. Has the boy-blue, girl-pink rule finally been struck down?

Perhaps. If so, it's not the only instance of social and demographic trends altering the color landscape of America. Marketers know that colors have the power to create brand imagery and convey moods. They also know it's essential to take demographic differences into account when selecting a brand's plumage, because colors are accepted by different ages, genders and ethnic groups in different ways.

A nationwide poll conducted by New York City-based BuzzBack and commissioned by American Demographics found clear shifts in taste due to the ways sex, ethnicity and age influence color preferences. A relaxation of color alignments associated with gender, the increased prominence of ethnic groups with different color traditions, the aging of the Baby Boom generation and the growing influence of their offspring, are bringing about broad changes in the palette U.S. consumers find appealing.

"The bottom line is that color preferences are really about demographics," says Jill Morton, CEO of Honolulu-based consulting firm Colorcom. "And it's not a fixed situation either, because our color preferences change over time."

Traditionally, men and women have had different tastes in color, with women drawn to brighter tones and more sensitive to subtle shadings and patterns. The differences are attributed in part to biology, since females see color better than males do (color blindness is 16 times more prevalent in men), and in part to socialization, with girls more likely to be steered toward coloring books and art supplies. American men - compared with Europeans - have traditionally avoided brighter, more complex and warmer hues in favor of darker, richer neutrals and blues, says Kathy LaManchusa, a color trend strategist for companies such as Kmart, Motorola and Philip Morris.

Now, gender seems to have less impact on choices. The American Demographics/BuzzBack survey found that men and women agree on exterior house paint colors; the main exception being the top male choice, white (36 percent would paint their next house white versus 25 percent of women), and the female favorite, beige (35 percent of women versus 29 percent of men). Convergence is also apparent in car colors. The survey also found both men and women choose blue, silver and black cars over white, yellow, red or green. "We would expect men's and women's tastes to be very different," says Christine Dickey, color and trim manager of the corporate strategic and product planning group at Toyota Motor Sales USA. "But contrary to our expectations, today there are surprising similarities in what men and women want in exterior paint colors for cars."

Gender differences are fading even more among those under 30. Says Leatrice Eiseman, director of the Pantone Color Institute and author of The Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color (Graphix Press, 2000): "Ten years ago, it was considered very hard to sell purple to males. It was a female color. But graphic and fashion designers have thrown away the notebook. Today, a guy will go out and buy a purple fleece jacket."

Why the change? First, says Eiseman, previously rigid gender roles have loosened up, and the stigma formerly attached to women who stick with charcoal gray or men who opt for softer shades has receded. Another influence, she says, is the world of sports, where aggressively masculine men do wear uniforms with teal and purple, instead of the primary colors that once reigned supreme.

"I believe that the old paradigm of girls are girls and boys are boys is being replaced by much more crossover in terms of color," says Richard Brandt, executive creative director of San Francisco-based brand consultancy Landor Associates. "But it depends on context. You can't put GI Joe in pink. But can Diesel do pink men's clothing? Absolutely."

Designers say younger men are more likely than their fathers to buy hot pink ski gear, and age affects color preference in other ways too. Margaret Miele, assistant professor of psychology at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, says that as we get older, our eyes mature and our vision takes on a yellow cast. "You can see this in the work of Monet," she says. "In his later years, his paintings became much more yellow." Color looks less bright to older people, so they gravitate to white and other bright tones.