Crayola 64 Box Turns 50

EASTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An American classic, the Crayola 64 Box is turning the big 5-0 and Crayola has gone a bit “radical red” to mark the golden moment. That famous box with the built-in sharpener that debuted in 1958 and became home to colors like burnt sienna and cornflower has undergone an extreme color makeover for its fiftieth, to reflect the color preferences of today’s kids. Nearly 20,000 kids got the chance to be color experts for Crayola and helped select and name a special set of “Kids’ Choice Colors” in celebration of 50 years of the 64 Box. The palette of eight colors, deemed by kids as the “hot hues” for 2008, illustrate how different colors tell a story about what is important to today’s kids.

“The 64 Box is chockfull of memories for millions”

“The 64 Box is chockfull of memories for millions,” said Keith Allison, Crayola color chemist and resident color expert. “As we mark 50 years of the 64 Box, we wanted the crayons inside to give a color commentary about what’s important to today’s kids and who better to do that than the kids themselves.”

Just like professional color experts who predict the year’s hot hues; kids across the country had the chance to voice their own opinion and pick the colors they felt were “in” for 2008. They were invited to participate in an online survey at Bonus.com where they were asked about the things they value and are most interested in. Next, they said what those things would look like as a color and then zoomed in on the shade within each color family (red, blue, green, yellow, brown, pink, orange and purple) that they felt was the coolest. The result? A collection of eight colors was created that draw on everything from kids wanting to play their part in protecting the planet to believing that they can become famous just like the everyday people who achieve stardom on reality shows.

The 2008 “Kids Choice Colors” include:

“super happy” -- kids don’t want to worry, they just want to be happy -- “super happy” -- as their color says and they wish the same for others, too;
“fun in the sun” -- riding bikes, playing soccer, skateboarding, and gymnastics – kids said this color means exercise and keeping fit are important … and fun!;
“giving tree” -- it’s a colorful truth that kids are thinking green, too, and want to play a part in protecting the Earth;
“bear hug” -- a hue of harmony as kids want their homes to feel warm and loving just like a great big bear hug;
“awesome” -- means kids think school is cool and getting good grades feels awesome;
“happy ever after” -- kids want to make a difference and create Cinderella moments for others, so everyone’s story has a happy ending;
“famous” -- American Idol and shows like it inspired this hue, as kids believe they can become celebrities just like everyday people who become stars;

“best friends” -- this shade of purple reveals who kids’ real BFFs are – their parents – and spending time with them is what they enjoy most.

“When it comes to kids and color, bright and bold is in fashion,” said Allison. “This vivid collection of colors, including several florescent hues, draws on kids’ fascination with bright shades.”

Just as Crayola’s new “Kids’ Choice Colors” open a door into what’s on kids’ minds, David Shayt, cultural history curator for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., says that’s fitting given the doors the 64 Box has been opening for the last 50 years. “Opening a box is like stepping through the door to Oz,” says Shayt. “It’s like opening a box of memories for adults, especially colorful ones, and walking into the process of discovery for children. There’s a community of colors inside the box that peppers everyone’s imaginations.”

Each of these new hues introduced to celebrate 50 years of the Crayola 64 Box can be found inside the limited-edition 50^th Birthday box, which features the new “perfect tip sharpener” that puts a perfect point on any worn down crayon so that it looks just like the original. These colors are also available in new 64 Box versions of Pipsqueaks markers and colored pencils created in honor of the birthday.

About the Crayola 64 Box

An American cultural icon, the Crayola 64 Box made its debut in 1958 on the “Captain Kangaroo Show.” More than 200 million Crayola 64 Boxes have been sold over the last 50 years. The 12.8 billion crayons inside would circle the earth 24 times. An original 64 Box was added to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in 1998, the same year it was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. The most popular color inside the Crayola 64 Box is blue.