The youth identify with it. Its presence echoes vibrancy, joie de vivre. It?s an inescapable link to your childhood. It?s the colour red.

There are entire sections of walls in cities, hoardings that cry hoarse their wares in the ?Hey, look-at-me? colour. Little wonder, then, that Vodafone, Kingfisher, The Mobile Store, Lakme Freespirit, Airtel, et al use it. It?s the colour of Now.

?Red is associated with memories,? says Anjali Chhabria, psychotherapist. ?Your teacher marked your success and failures in red. It is etched in one?s memory. If an advertisement is seen only for 1/20th of a second, the colour red registers.?

For most marketers, the colour is in sync with their brand. Like Kingfisher, for instance. Says Vikram Malhotra, GM, marketing, Kingfisher Airlines, who feels that the colour owns them as much as they own it: ?It stands for our values of fun, youth, modern, trendy.?

The eyes notice red first among all colours, explains Vinayak Parab, who has carried out a study entitled Visual Sensitivity of Colours. ?Every colour has its wavelength. When the eyes see red, it expands, as the colour?s wavelength is the largest and cannot be ignored,? he says.

Ramanuj Shastry, chief creative officer, Rediffusion, believes it?s more than just being noticed. ?It?s what is being said with the use of the colour that matters. It is the first colour that the eyes see,? he says, adding, ?Colour is a visual identity that signifies the brand and no brand is confused with the other, just because both use red.? He says when new brands use red, it is a big responsibility, for they have to live up the calling-attention colour.

It is also a sign of the times. Explains Colette Austin, president, design cell, Lintas India: ?The colour corresponds to youth, and the messages associated are trendy, fun, zesty. Banks, for instance, use red in a restrained manner, as the colour denotes brashness.

It is a happy, optimistic colour and is in keeping with the Can-do, chak de times we live in.?

The cheery hue, otherwise used sparingly, is now used often by television channels either as a backdrop or prominently in the logo. Says Vaishali Sharma, head of marketing, BBC World, ?The use of red is very old. We use it to signify courage, confidence, determination, strength, power–which is what BBC is about.?

The bold mascot enlivens a drab background as it calls attention to itself. Says Yvonne Sheikhawat, executive creative director, Publicis Ambience: ?It is a symbol of potency and also of emergency. It is about freedom, vivaciousness and making a statement.?

If only colour did the trick, most ads would use red indiscriminately. But there is more to an ad than just the colour. ?The tone of the ad makes it stand out,? feels Piyush Pandey, group resident director & national creative director, Ogilvy & Mather. ?Communication is the key. Red is after all just the background colour. It is the base that holds the ad together. Words, visuals juxtaposed against red is to own up to vitality. But what does the brand say after the use of red is vital.?

Pandey may be right about the colour, but then his words come just a few days before the season?s biggest cheerleader makes an entry on country?s billboards with his reindeer transforming cheques into stuffed stockings. And as wallets are thinned, and purchases made, it?s the festive colour that is talking. Merry Christmas.