When WhatsApp Turned Red: A Trademark Lesson in Colour

Following Arsenal Football Club’s recent Premier League 2025/2026 title win, social media was filled with celebrations from supporters, brands and online communities around the world.

One brand moment which attracted particular attention was WhatsApp’s reported temporary change of its social media profile logos from its familiar green to Arsenal red.

At first glance, it was a fun and timely celebration of a major sporting achievement. From a branding and trademark perspective, however, it also offers a useful reminder that colour can play an important role in how consumers recognise and remember a brand.

In branding, colour is rarely accidental.

For many businesses, colour forms part of their commercial identity. A particular shade, colour combination or visual presentation may become strongly associated with a brand through long, consistent and repeated use in the marketplace. In the same way that many consumers associate WhatsApp with green, Arsenal is strongly associated with red.

This raises several practical points from a Malaysian trademark perspective.

Colour and scope of protection

In Malaysia, where a trademark is registered without limitation as to colour, it is generally deemed to be registered for all colours.

This can give brand owners a degree of flexibility, especially where a logo is used across different campaigns, platforms, packaging formats or promotional materials.

However, where a particular colour is a key part of the brand identity, the filing strategy should be considered carefully. In some cases, it may be commercially sensible to protect the mark in black and white. In other cases, a colour version may also be useful, particularly where the colour presentation itself carries brand significance.

There is no single approach that applies to all brands. The right strategy depends on how the mark is used, how consumers recognise it and how the brand owner intends to enforce its rights.

Use in the marketplace matters

Trademark registration is important, but actual use remains highly relevant.

How a mark is presented on apps, websites, packaging, advertisements, storefronts, social media pages and digital campaigns can influence how consumers recognise the brand.

For this reason, evidence of use can be important in many trademark matters. It may assist in showing acquired recognition, supporting enforcement action, responding to objections or demonstrating how the public has come to associate a particular sign with one business.

Consistent use of a colour presentation over time may therefore become part of the wider brand story.

Controlled variations should be planned

Modern brands move quickly. They react to cultural moments, sporting events, festivals, public holidays and online trends. A logo may be adapted for a campaign, local market or special celebration within hours.

This flexibility can be commercially valuable. It also needs to be managed carefully.

A brand owner should consider how far a logo may be varied before the revised version becomes materially different from the registered mark. The issue is not only one of marketing appeal, but also of legal protection, consumer perception and brand control.

In Malaysia, a series mark application may be useful where a brand owner uses variations of the same mark, provided the marks resemble each other in material particulars and differ only in limited respects, such as colour.

For businesses that regularly adapt their marks for campaigns, product ranges or digital content, these variations should be considered as part of the wider trademark strategy.

A brand moment worth learning from

The image of a globally recognised green brand adopting red, even temporarily, is memorable because it works on several levels. It is timely, culturally relevant and immediately recognisable, especially to football fans.

It also shows how powerful colour can be as part of brand communication.

For brand owners, the broader lesson is simple. Campaigns may move quickly, but trademark strategy should not be an afterthought. If a colour, logo variation or campaign identity matters to the brand, it should be considered as part of the wider protection strategy.

Colour is not just decoration.

In the right context, it can become part of the brand.

At Marks & Clerk Malaysia, we regularly assist brand owners with trademark clearance, filing strategy, prosecution, portfolio management and related advisory work in Malaysia. If you would like to review how your brand assets are protected, including names, logos, colour presentations or other brand elements, our Malaysia trademarks team would be pleased to assist.