It's a cliched question, but was that why Sonic's main colors are red, white and blue?

NO: (laughs) Well, he's blue because that's Sega's more-or-less official company color. His shoes were inspired by the cover to Michael Jackson's Bad, which contrasted heavily between white and red -- that Santa Claus-type color. I also thought that red went well for a character who can run really fast, when his legs are spinning.

Gamasutra - Features - Out of the Blue: Naoto Ohshima Speaks