Roland DG has created a ‘50 Shades of Ginger’ colour index to celebrate redheads, using its TrueVis colour technology. The company - keen to champion the power of standing out from the crowd - is also teaming up with the Redhead Days Festival 2023 as an official lead sponsor at the festival in Tilburg, Netherlands on 25-27 August, where attendees can use the new colour index to find their perfect hair match, with branded merchandise then printed on-site.
The moves follows a study of 500 redheads to understand what being such means to them. The findings showed that the age of 20 is when redheads learned to loved their locks, by their early-20s 34% loved the fact their hair stood them apart, but 67% spent years battling with their distinctive look, with 48% attempting to dye their hair.
To launch the index and research, redhead celebrity and TV quizmaster Jenny Ryan has been recruited as the campaign ambassador and was interviewed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain last week to talk about the campaign.
“When Roland DG approached me about this campaign, I just had to say yes! As a proud redhead, I’ve grown to truly love my red hair and embrace the fact it makes me different to others. But I wasn't surprised to hear that wasn't the case for many - growing up with a different hair colour to most was challenging, but now I celebrate my redhead status. If anything, I’m proud of it,” said Ryan.
Lauren Swinnerton, head of marketing communications and brand EMEA at Roland DG, explained: “Our research found that 54% redheads would never describe their hair as ‘ginger’, and for years, people have struggled to truly define their hair colour - with many viewing the most common term as somewhat derogatory. So, we got to work to develop 50 shades to show the full spectrum of shades that make up the vast colour gamut of redheads.”
The multi-channel campaign aims to highlight the colour print possibilities using Roland DG's TrueVis technology and expertise, supported by an EMEA PR campaign and event sponsoring the largest redhead festival in the world.
“Being a redhead goes far beyond hair colour - it’s a visual representation of individualism, expression and beauty and we strongly believe no one term can define the vast and beautiful shades of redheads, which is why we’ve created our celebratory redhead colour index,” continued Swinnerton. “This rings true to the ethos of Roland DG as a global print company that celebrates colour and expressiveness, and thrives on standing out from the crowd.”