PANTONE, ILLUMINATION ENTERTAINMENT AND UNIVERSAL PARTNERSHIPS & LICENSING UNVEIL INDUSTRY’S FIRST-EVER CHARACTER BRANDED COLOR

INSPIRED BY ILLUMINATION’S MINIONS
PANTONE Minion Yellow to Debut this Summer

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., (April 14, 2015) – In an industry first, Pantone, the global color authority, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Partnerships & Licensing today announced the creation of an official new PANTONE Color, Minion Yellow, based on the Minions from Universal Pictures and Illumination’s Despicable Me global film franchise, including the upcoming prequel Minions, opening in theaters July 10, 2015. The development of PANTONE Minion Yellow, marks the first time in the global color authority’s history that a color has been created and named after a character.
The partnership was born when Pharrell Williams, who helped create the music for the Despicable Me franchise, came up with the idea while the Pantone Color Institute®, the research arm of the company that charts global color trends and studies how color influences human thought processes, emotions and physical reactions, noted the desire of the consumer to add more energizing color into their lives. Pantone noticed that the Minions, created and designed by Illumination, have become a global phenomenon by doing just that across movies, theme parks and video games. Looking to add to its PANTONE Fashion, Home + Interiors color palette, Pantone worked closely with the animation team at Illumination to review the existing color range and to identify the most pure representation of the Minions’ iconic yellow color. The resulting PANTONE Minion Yellow is a custom color designed to represent the sweet and subversive characters. An extroverted hue, it projects playfulness and warmth and is suggestive of intellectual curiosity and enlightenment.
“Color is contextual and right now there is a desire for colors that are more vibrant and uplifting. This is especially the case with the yellows, so given the worldwide popularity of the Minions, it seemed only natural to name a color after a character for the first time in our history,” said Laurie Pressman, Vice President, Pantone Color Institute. “When developing the color, we worked directly with the animation team at Illumination, and we thoughtfully considered the characters’ aura to ensure PANTONE Minion Yellow is the exact right hue.”
“Pantone has long established its reputation as the global color authority,” said Jamie Stevens, Executive Vice President, Global Retail Development, Universal Partnerships & Licensing. “We are thrilled that their color experts saw market demand for yellow and looked to the Minions, as global pop culture icons, to add into its yellow spectrum.”
“PANTONE Minion Yellow is a color that heightens awareness and creates clarity, lighting the way to the intelligence, originality and the resourcefulness of an open mind – this is the color of hope, joy and optimism,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute.
The custom PANTONE Minion Yellow color will be added to the PANTONE Fashion, Home + Interiors color palette with the next color addition.
The color has already served as inspiration for a designer capsule collection based on the Minions that was also announced today. The collection features limited-edition apparel and accessories from UK-based designers Rupert Sanderson, Giles Deacon, Piers Atkinson, Tatty Devine and Criminal Damage and also includes denim designs from SJYP, a new label out of South Korea. The “Minions Bello Yellow Collection” will debut exclusively at Selfridges in June 2015, followed by roll out to global retail partners including Parisian retailer Colette in July 2015.
For more information on the upcoming Minions movie, visit: www.minionsmovie.com. For more information on the new color Minion Yellow or Pantone’s color intelligence and systems, visit: www.pantone.com.
About Minions
The story of Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s Minions begins at the dawn of time. Starting as single-celled yellow organisms, Minions evolve through the ages, perpetually serving the most despicable of masters. Continuously unsuccessful at keeping these masters—from T. rex to Napoleon—the Minions find themselves without someone to serve and fall into a deep depression.
But one Minion named Kevin has a plan, and he—alongside teenage rebel Stuart and lovable little Bob—ventures out into the world to find a new evil boss for his brethren to follow.
The trio embarks upon a thrilling journey that ultimately leads them to their next potential master, Scarlet Overkill (Academy Award® winner Sandra Bullock), the world’s first-ever female super-villain. They travel from frigid Antarctica to 1960s New York City, ending in mod London, where they must face their biggest challenge to date: saving all of Minionkind…from annihilation.
Featuring a soundtrack of hit music from the ’60s that still permeates our culture today, Minions is produced by Illumination’s Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and is directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda. Brian Lynch has written the screenplay for the 3D-CG comedy adventure, and Chris Renaud serves as executive producer of the film. www.minionsmovie.com
About Pantone and the Pantone Color Institute
Pantone LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated, is the global color authority and provider of professional color standards for the design industries. Pantone products have encouraged colorful exploration and expressions of creativity from inspiration to implementation for more than 50 years. Through the Pantone Color Institute,
Pantone continues to chart future color direction and study how color influences human thought processes, emotions and physical reactions. Pantone furthers its commitment to providing professionals with a greater understanding of color and to help them utilize color more effectively. Always a source for color inspiration, Pantone also offers designer-inspired products and services for consumers. More information is available at www.pantone.com. For the latest news, trends, information and conversations, connect with Pantone on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and the Pantone Blog.
About Illumination Entertainment
Illumination Entertainment, founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007, is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of all-audience event films. In July 2010, Illumination, which has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures, released its first film, Despicable Me, starring Steve Carell, which earned more than $540 million worldwide and launched a beloved global franchise. With the success of 2011’s Hop (over $183 million worldwide), 2012’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and 2013’s juggernaut Despicable Me 2— the highest-grossing first-run film in Universal’s history and the year’s third-highest-grossing film at the worldwide box office—Illumination’s films have made almost $2 billion. Universal and Illumination’s next film Minions, starring Academy Award®-winner Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm, written by Brian Lynch, and directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, arrives in theaters on July 10, 2015. Fans may also experience Minion Mayhem in 3D with the Ultra-HD movie motion simulator adventure at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood.
About Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
About Universal Partnerships & Licensing
Universal Partnerships & Licensing (UP&L) oversees NBCUniversal’s consumer product and digital licensing for Universal Pictures, NBC Television, Focus Features and Sprout Channel. This dedicated division is also responsible for film, home entertainment and television promotions. UP&L is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
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Molly Walsh, Pantone

mwalsh@pantone.com