50 Shades of Grey: The Perfect Color for the 21st Century

“More than a color, grey serves to calm us, restore us, relax us and even remind us of our deepest yearnings. The need for a sense of quietude is profound in a quickly changing world.”

In these difficult times, there are many who would say that our love of materialism, has put us where we are today.  Contrasting social movements such as “green ecology” or “health food”  and “green fashion” are all part of a worldwide reaction to massive industrial growth of newly minted economies and the wake-up call of more mature economies who see their own tawdry past in the rear view mirror.  Why grey, why now, and what does it all mean?

Sometimes a cultural “phenom” emerges at just the right time to remind us that we’re human, and the stories of connections between us are like candy in a vastly “grey” digital world.  Our love of digital experiences does not replace the need to connect on a pure human scale.  Marketers are working quickly to understand our reactions, relationships and connections to these digital channels but they fail to understand that human drama or the story, is what draws us closer and connects us. From a branding standpoint, the idea of a simple drama between humans highlights needs, foibles, inner natures and strikes a chord.  When real human experiences “trumps” the digital ones, then we know that we still have a chance to keep humanity on track.

The “unbranded-brand” has often been a topic of our discussion here and is an antidote for the overly “uber-branded” culture that we are currently experiencing and that is where the ‘shades of grey’, a statement of the “ultimate neutral”, comes in.   A brand, to be truly successful, needs to be authentic with itself and its audience.  A creative approach that reaches an audience in real-time and creates a tactile experience, or personalized connection, is the most powerful way to tell a brand story that is not about selling, at all.

The Editor