Want To Know Which Color Was Scientifically Proven To Be The Ugliest?

When we think of colors, we think of the shiny reds or the pretty pastels. But we never think about colors that make us sick to our stomach (or that look like something that came from our stomach).

But according to an advisory team that brainstormed the Australian government’s plain cigarette packets, this color was supposed to turn customers away from the cigarette packs. Market researcher Victoria Parr was the lead on the campaign and did not want customers to feel encouraged to buy the product at all:

We didn’t want to create attractive, aspirational packaging designed to win customers … Instead our role was to help our client reduce demand, with the ultimate aim to minimize use of the product.

The research pool consisted of over 1,000 smokers ranging from 16 to 64.

And the “winning” color is…

via GIPHY

Pantone 448 C.

The shade of brown had a highly negative effect on smokers and made it seem that those packs would contain the most harmful type of cigarettes.

Well, it seems that this research succeeded, as this color on any product would not encourage me to buy it. Nicely done, team.

[H/T Brisbane Times]