Last week, the color red took a hit from a recent study at the University of Rochester. The study claims that women feel threatened by other women who wear red. Adam Pazda, the lead researcher, warned women that if they wanted “to make friends with other gals, don’t wear the color.”

I happen to like red, and it has been used in many positive ways to make brands stand out or to make a woman feel confident. Sure, the red sports car commercials tap into a more sexy type of marketing. I don’t see the harm in that. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve sat in top-level marketing sessions recently where the term “sexy” came up as a way to breathe some fun and fire into a campaign. This is nothing new. Watch a few Mad Men episodes.

Red has been a powerful ally for brands like Coca-Cola, Office Depot, Staples, Target, the American Red Cross, and Wells Fargo, to name a few. It’s one of the colors on the U.S. flag. Santa and Cupid happen to love red. When we hear a familiar siren, we expect to see the classic red fire truck. It tell us to “stop” at intersections for safety. There are the timeless, even nostalgic, fashion trends of red lipstick and a pair of sparkly ruby shoes contrasted against a yellow brick road. Incidentally, I always eat the red Life Savers first because I think they taste better than the other colors. Red is a good thing.

Jewelry Television has teamed up with the American Heart Association’s “Go Red” campaign for several years now, and women proudly wear red attire and jewelry in a sisterhood effort to support women’s health and fight heart disease.

Red = power, confidence, life

It’s OK for red to be sexy at times. After all, it’s also many other wonderful things.