UPS has that brown. DHL that yellow (even claiming it as the new brown). UPS the purple and orange. Coke mythology has its own red living outside of Pantone's purview. These are "owned" colors. Or, keeping it in a linguistic framework, these are Signs which we interpret and comprehend. They are as good as -if not better than-words.
What about Green? Who owns it? No one, arguably and that may be part of the problem. Anyone can apply a tint of green to a new brochure in an effort to appear eco-friendly (I swear there is a post coming about hyphens). What we think needs to happen is a change up. True Green companies need to stop using it. There a ubiquitous quality about the color nowadays, and that may end up hurting the environmental movement in the long run.
By the way did anyone notice the name of this blog? We're guilty too. But it proves a point. The color, or Sign, of Green is still a shortcut. But with any shortcut, we may miss out on the journey itself.
Maybe Steve Case and LIME are doing it. Maybe they got it right. But more interesting is his REVOLUTION - not a drop of green in the joint. After seeing him speak at LOHAS1o last year, he certainly is market-wise. He understands that his market is not a green consumer, but a wealthy investor who may be turned off by too much green.
We think Larry Bird would make a great spokesperson for a new green company.