Big Pink Energy: The Colour of Summer – And How We Got Here

A billboard wrapped in Pantone 212C did the rounds on social media this summer – inside and outside of our ad bubble. 

It conveyed more than the upcoming release of the Barbie film. 

It proved the power of a brand. And the potency of a colour. 

Barbie has stirred up a hot pink whirlwind (or vortex, depending on your POV) with everyone from Crocs to Mac collaborating officially, while others like Not On The High St’s ‘Pink Friday’ blush cheekily on the sidelines. 

Whatever Greta Gerwig brings to the silver screen, the marketing case study is solid gold. Rose gold. 

Airbnb’s Miami dream house; Bondi’s iconic pool; the selfie generator. The screenshots will haunt decks for years. 

But what does it say about pink, and about where we are right now? 

Barbie might not have freed us from the cosy embrace of nostalgia-core, but as her signature pink usurps the more comforting Millennial hue, does it signal a shift in energy? 

It’s not just Mattel dolling up the world in its most bankable shade. From trans pride to Valentino, dopamine design principles to Pantone’s colour of the year, this truly is a hot pink summer. And it brings confidence – and baggage – with it. 

Is it an extended comeback from the pandemic? Or the only colour bright enough to blind us to the continuing trials of war, inflation and armageddon? 

Unbridled magenta carries a wilful spirit that runs counter to current trends. And that’s what pink has always done best. 

To unpick that, we must roll back the years. Pink’s place in culture is complicated, and has long shifted with the sands of societal norms. 

‘Pink for boys’ was standard in the early 1900’s. Derivative of red, pink was seen as a strong colour and therefore more “masculine”; softer blue the more “feminine” hue. 

Not that pink has always been binary. Before synthetic dyes brought colour to the masses, pink was prized by the elite – a rarity that set them apart. 

Then consider the reclaiming of the pink triangle. From Nazi death warrant, to symbol of proud solidarity. 

From Madonna referencing Marilyn in Material Girl, to Elle Woods subverting the stereotype in Legally Blonde, to the Pussyhat Project advancing women’s rights, examples of pink called up in moments of reclamation or redefinition come easy. 

Perhaps pink’s distinctiveness has always ‘othered’ the colour. Its narrative does tend toward defining the edges of a spectrum or a moment. With society again dividing in so many ways, pink is back to badge the time. 

And its power is far from exhausted. Pink is a potent fusion of everything it’s been, still fizzing with the vibrancy of what might come.

In hindsight, the perfect choice of colour for a doll that’s been pilloried for having a genetically impossible body shape, but praised for holding down 200 careers and a single life partner. 

Pink’s enduring power plays on a history of subversions. Despite past definitions, it pivots. Despite many meanings, it’s meaningful. Despite current saturation, it shocks. 

Not bad properties to have in a distinctive brand asset. 

And Barbie has nailed pink, with a knowing wink.