Last week, McDonald's India announced a big colour makeover. Big Mac stated it would shed its trademark red-and-yellow colours for a more mature look with muted colours. These bright shades which the brand has always sported would be replaced by the colour white in its famous arched logo. In addition, the décor within McStores would change from neon-yellow and red interiors to pale, less intrusive colours. The key reason for this change? McDonald's wants to attract an increasing number of adult consumers, instead of just kids. Therefore, the move to shed kiddish bright colours, in favour of more universal shades.

The move has already drawn vastly differing responses. Some observers have said that McDonald's core equity lies with kids, therefore the move to change to adult colours may actually end up alienating these young consumers who have made the brand so successful. Others have said that shedding the “kiddie” image through the change in colours, taking away the childish mascot Ronald McDonald and introduction of spicy dishes such as McSpicy Chicken, is absolutely the right way forward for a family fast food chain, where increasingly kids and adults eat meals together.

Only time will tell which view is correct, but the proposed change has clearly drawn both early flak and applause. In a similar move two years ago, McDonald's Europe had removed the red background behind its golden arches logo and replaced it with green, across the Old Continent. The idea was to symbolise commitment to the environment. Of this move, a commentator had said at that time - “Red stimulates appetite and heart beat. Green, on the other hand, is viewed as a colour of hope, the Barack Obama of the colour spectrum.” But what is clear is that this changeover to colours of environment and hope was also a method of appealing to responsible adults rather than to kids alone, which appears to be a driving business requirement for the success of McDonald's, particularly in rapidly ageing societies.

While McDonald's is changing colour to appeal to adults, other brands have undertaken permanent or seasonal colour changes for a variety of other reasons. Some of these changes have succeeded, and others have failed miserably. Here are a few striking case-studies, and what they teach us.

Hutch goes pink

Many of us recall the makeover of the telecom brand Hutch in 2006, with the “It's Pink!” campaign. Suddenly the colour orange had become pink, in one fell swoop. The change in colour had reportedly been necessitated by two reasons. First, brand Hutch had replaced brand Orange, and a change in colour was the clearest method of communicating the new brand identity. Second, there was a need to refresh and differentiate the brand from competition, in any case. A brand spokesperson at that time had said: “We decided to go with pink, an unusual colour, because 90 per cent of Indian brands are red, blue or green. Pink is also a brave, confident and exuberant colour.”

This colour change was very successful, by any standards. Hutch continued to remain an exciting telecom brand, consistently adding several lakh subscribers each month after the change. The colour pink also brought in a new-age dimension to the brand, and perhaps made it younger. Of course, shortly thereafter, Hutch was acquired by Vodafone, post which the brand and colour have changed once again to the global Voda Red.

Coca-Cola cans become white

Three months ago, in the US, Coca-Cola launched white cans emblazoned with silver polar bears, replacing their trademark red cans. This was a temporary change to support the efforts of the World Wildlife Fund in protecting the polar bear, and it was accompanied by a high-decibel campaign with the logo “We are turning our cans white because turning our backs wasn't an option”. The white cans were unique, beautiful and quite appealing in themselves. They were also very different from the red cans which they replaced.

In this case, the move to change colour boomeranged on the brand. Purists lambasted the move. More worryingly, several consumers reported that the taste of the drink had changed, that the white cans no longer carried the same Coke taste they had enjoyed for so many years. Of course, there was no change whatsoever in the chemical composition or any ingredients of Coca-Cola, but the significant change in colour had psychologicallyaffected several consumers, getting them to think their favourite drink had changed. Some other consumers also said the white “polar bear” cans were confusingly similar to cans of Diet Coke.

Exactly one month after launch, faced with such feedback, the Coca-Cola company halted further production of these white cans, and returned to their trademark red containers. Here is a clear example of a change in colour that did not work, even though it was only a temporary move.

Other changes in colour: Godrej and Bank of Baroda

Godrej launched its new multicoloured brand identity some time ago. From a single colour, this respected brand transformed into three colours – green, blue and ruby. While I do not have access to any research conducted by the brand, the transformation appears to have been accepted without any resistance by consumers. I am, however, unsure whether the change in colour and identity has led to any dramatic shift in brand Godrej's recognition or preference scores.

Similarly, a few years ago, Bank of Baroda suddenly changed colours to a bright orange. Today, the country is dotted with the brand's orange signage, which clearly stands out. There is no doubt that by adopting an unusual colour for the banking industry (which is dominated by the familiar blues and reds), and by being very consistent with this colour in all elements of its identity, Bank of Baroda has gained significantly higher recognition and cut through clutter.

Some hypotheses regarding brand colours:

These few case-studies show us that results of changes in brand colours have ranged from great success to hopeless failure. Students of marketing may, therefore, like to explore in further detail the following hypotheses and questions relating to the interesting subject of brand colours:

Does change in colour work best only when there is also a change in brand name and overall identity? (For example, when Orange became Hutch)

If a brand is strongly associated with a certain colour in consumers' minds (for example, Coke and the colour red), is it best not to experiment with any changes in colour?

On the other hand, if a brand has a colour-neutral imagery in consumers' minds (for example, Bank of Baroda), then does a change to a unique colour always benefit the brand by building distinctiveness in the category ?

Do marketers have to bear in mind various demographics of the target consumer segment while contemplating selection or change of colours? For instance, do colours such as yellow and pink work better with youth brands, in contrast to colours such as blue and green which may be seen as far more mature?

In any product category are there colours which work and other colours which do not? Are there category codes which have to be followed? Do environmentally-friendly products always need a touch of green, and do powerful automobiles preferably need a splash of red?

Finally, what is the psychological impact of various colours on consumers? Do some colours connote purity, others love, and yet others create feelings of happiness or mourning or elegance? I hope to delve into this subject in greater detail in a forthcoming column. In the meanwhile, we wish McDonald's well in its proposed colour makeover. May kids and adults enjoy the unmistakable and delicious pleasures of the Big Mac in equal measure!

Harish Bhat is Chief Operating Officer – Watches and Accessories, Titan Industries Ltd. These are his personal views.

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