Behr’s process of selecting a Color of the Year begins a full year before the hue is announced. 

For eight years, Behr—which is sold exclusively at The Home Depot—has started each round with surveys and global studies that evaluate colors that are trending in home goods and other categories, hues that people are curious to explore and up-and-coming paint selections picking up steam in the market. 

Behr begins with global trends across industries outside of the home first, said Andy Lopez, global head of marketing at Behr. Eventually, the brand narrows its options until it reaches a compilation of trending colors in the home category.

“We look at technology, auto, fashion, and we try to understand globally what trends are popping and what people are resonating with,” Lopez told Ad Age. “Then we look at home trends specifically, not just within the paint [category], but at core design trends that are happening, to narrow down which color we think is going to be the right color for our brand to come out with for Color of the Year.”

Throughout that process, the brand identifies one hero color, along with other trending ones to introduce them to more people. 

“Rumors,” the 2025 Color of the Year announced Aug. 21, is described by the brand as a deep shade of ruby red. Other colors featured in this year’s “Color Trends Palette” pay homage to modernity while maintaining an affinity for experimentation. They include organic and botanical hues, including greens, browns and oranges.

“Rumors” was selected after several surveys showed more than three-quarters (76%) of Americans would consider painting a room or wall a shade of red. A similar percentage (73%) believe red can add depth and character to living spaces, and more than half (61%) agree that bold red walls feel warm and captivating.

The selection also reflects a growing trend among Gen Z to stray from neutral, modern home styles embraced by millennials and move instead toward nostalgic, bolder colors reminiscent of classic ’90s homes, said Lopez. 

“Nostalgia is very on trend right now,” he said. “When we think about ‘Rumors’ specifically, a lot of people want to embrace the ’90s red, and we wanted to have a modern take on what that could look like. Everyone had a red kitchen in the ’90s. And although this isn’t your grandmother's kitchen, it’s a modern take on a timeless red that people can reimagine and re-experience in their room.”

According to research by Behr and The Home Depot, Gen Z is taking a growing interest in interior design, style and paint ideas, as many are becoming first-time homeowners or renters. Gen Zers are also characteristically enthusiastic DIYers, many of whom enjoy creating statement pieces and use bold colors in their homes, clothes, nails and more as a form of expression.

According to a Behr survey, 66% of respondents said they enjoy matching their fashion style and their home aesthetic. In that same study, most agreed that red enhances personal style, much like the feeling of wearing a red dress or red nail polish. Women in particular (63%) agreed that red walls inspire confidence in a similar way that wearing red does.

That’s why, for this year’s campaign, Behr Paint is doing more than promoting its Color of the Year to consumers at The Home Depot or on its website and social channels. The company partnered with nail polish brand Olive & June to create a co-branded nail polish in the Rumors color. Starting today, consumers who follow Behr Paint and Olive & June on Instagram and TikTok can enter a giveaway to get the nail polish.

Practical applications for Color of the Year

Rumors and the other colors of the year will also be part of Behr’s sponsor integration with ESPN’s “College GameDay Built by the Home Depot,” college football’s pregame show on Saturdays.

As part of the sponsorship, Behr is showing fans how they can protect their walls, build a fan cave and get their space gameday-ready with its paint. The campaign includes a Behr TV spot featuring show host Rece Davis and analyst Nick Saban set to air on gamedays and be amplified across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and YouTube.

Other plans include influencer creative, audio and ESPN digital banners. Behr and The Home Depot will also collaborate on social media videos that show simple DIY projects in which consumers can use the colors beyond wall paint. Each piece aims to show the versatility of the colors, even if people aren’t necessarily eager to cover all four of their bedroom walls in a particular shade.

“We don’t want to just say a color and people are afraid to use it or they don’t know how to use it,” Lopez said, noting that is especially the case with a bold color such as red. The ultimate goal is to empower consumers to take a risk and try a color they’ve never tried before, as is often the case with the Color of the Year selections, he added.

In the past seven years that Behr has named a Color of the Year, the average sales increase of the featured color has been more than 300% over the first 90 days. Behr and The Home Depot are projecting similar boosts this time as well.

“People don’t realize that even choosing a white can be one of the hardest decisions that you can make. So we wanted to create a palette of these can’t-go-wrong colors, so people can again feel really confident about choosing their color,” Lopez said.

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CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Behr is the exclusive paint partner of Home Depot.