Pantone 448 C, also known as Opaque Couché, was voted the world’s ugliest color by a polled group of 1,000 Australian smokers. But the color may help to save lives. The backstory: An Australian market research firm was tasked with discouraging people from smoking. The firm’s researchers polled smokers on which color they found most visually unappealing, with the goal of incorporating that hue in cigarette packaging.
Their research found that Pantone 448 C was considered the ugliest—participants associated the color with the words “dirty,” “tar” and “death.” Runners-up included lime green, white, beige, dark gray, mustard and dark brown.
Following Australia’s lead, other governments, including Ireland, the U.K., and France, have passed packaging laws which may incorporate the same seemingly off-putting hue.
