Red is a special colour in Asian culture. It is full of special meanings and considered to be lucky. and there is no time more important for red than Luna New Year. But which red is luckiest?
HSBC and Wunderman Thompson Canada have set out on a unique venture to find out. They’ve uncovered the luckiest shade of red to honour Asian artists in the US.
HSBC Bank USA partnered with one of the world’s finest collections of Asian art, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, to examine its collection of over 18,000 paintings, sculptures, textiles, and artifacts using an artificial intelligence-based program called Adobe Sensei. The Luckiest Red has been digitally matched by Pantone to be distributed by Asian American artists for the purpose of creating works which will be shared by HSBC Bank USA in May, when the US will celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“In Chinese culture, red usually suggests something vigorous, enthusiastic, inspiring, or auspicious,” stated Dr Jay Xu, the Barbara Bass Bakar Director and chief executive officer at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. “It is also a common colour in classical Chinese paintings. Red encapsulates rich social, cultural and spiritual meanings.”
Caroline Scurr, Head of Acquisition & Engagement, U.S Marketing, HSBC Bank, added, “With thousands of shades of red, the ‘luckiest’ can be hard to pinpoint – until now. The journey of finding this colour is as much about celebrating the culturally remarkable forms of art that Asian artists have contributed to the world.”
Ari Elkouby, executive creative director for Wunderman Thompson Canada, noted, “The diversity and mastery of Asian art rivals many of the Western or European masters – but few are household names. We saw this as an opportunity to bring light to these amazing artists who influenced many of more well-known artists we celebrate today.”
Credits:
Agency: Wunderman Thompson Canada
Chief Creative Officer: Ari Elkouby
Copywriter: Sucheta Shankar
Art Director: Lily Coyle
Associate Creative Director: Raj Gupta
Typographer: Pan Jianfeng
Managing Director: Scott Miskie
Account Team: Chandler Powell, Sarah Rosen & Anaysha Jairam
Agency Producer: Jennifer Cotton, Demi Veselinovic, Sarah Lasch & Christine Tsao
Strategy: Matt Ball, Barbara Jung & Arielle Peters
Production: Sauce Production
Editors: John Collucci & Justin Zhou
Audio Production: Stephen Stepanic
Colour Grading: Smile and Wave
PR: Lindsey Legat
Client: HSBC US
Client Team: Kristen Calogero, Laura Rastogi & Caroline Scurr
Media: PHD
