Aston Martin holds on to coolest brand title

Helped by the renaissance of the James Bond franchise and the anticipated release of 'Quantum of Solace', Aston Martin remained the coolest, most stylish brand in the eyes of the Coolbrands council and over 2,500 voters.

The British carmaker, which has always been synonymous with the nation's favourite spy, lead a top 10 list comprised mainly mainly of the UK's favourite high-tech gadgets and online brands.

Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive for the Centre for Brand Analysis, which administers the survey, said: "The brand is indelibly linked with James Bond because of the past success of the films and not only how they're still hugely popular -- but how the film and James Bond sums up a lot of what it means to be smooth, stylish and cool."

Newcomer Apple's iPhone took second spot while Apple itself claimed third, followed by stereo equipment manufacturer Bang & Olufsen, with Google rounding out the top five.

Thousands of brands were shortlisted to a list of 1,100 for this year's survey before a Coolbrands council and 2,500 members of the public rated the brands on style, innovation, originality, authenticity and desirability.

The Coolbrands survey is also divided into series of sub-categories including media and online media.

Fashion magazine Vogue was named the coolest media brand for 2008/09, followed by Vanity Fair.

The success of superhero movies 'The Dark Knight' and 'Iron Man' during the summer boxoffice helped Marvel Comic and DC Comics shoot up the Coolbrands media list for 2008/09, placing third and fifth respectively.

Newspapers The Guardian and its Sunday sister publication The Observer placed fourth, thanks to a recent redesign of its website and its monthly food, music and sport magazines.

"The Guardian pioneered a huge range of innovative online features, set the benchmark for a lot of web journalism and is at the vanguard of the migration of news from print to online.

"But the brand has clearly not forgotten about the importance of its flagship print product, its Berliner format is part of a unique look and crisp, clear, distinct style that really sets the newspaper apart from its competitors.

"Importantly, it is a brand that understands its readership perfectly, vital for any brand to be considered cool and to be a success."

Top 10 Coolest Brands

1. Aston Martin
2. iPhone
3. Apple
4. Bang & Olufsen
5. YouTube
6. Google
7. Nintendo
8. Agent Provocateur
9. Rolex
10. Tate Modern

Top 10 Coolest Media Publication

1. Vogue
2. Vanity Fair
3. Marvel Comics
4. The Guardian/The Observer
5. DC Comics
6. Creative Review
7. Dazed & Confused
8. GQ
9. The Independent/The Independent on Sunday
10. The Times/The Sunday Times

Top 10 Coolest Online Media

1. YouTube
2. Google
3. Facebook
4. Wikipedia
5. Last FM
6. Flickr
7. Bebo
8. Holy Moly
9. Gaydar.co.uk
10. Urban Junkies

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com