Aston Martin named 'coolest brand'
Thursday, 13 Sep 2007 11:17
An Aston Martin featured in the latest Bond film
Aston Martin has been rated as the coolest brand in Britain, with the success of the latest James Bond film held responsible for its popularity.
New 007 actor Daniel Craig drove an Aston Martin sports car in the recent Casino Royale movie, becoming the latest Bond to do so.
Aston Martin was subsequently ranked as the country's coolest brand, following the results of a YouGov poll of more than 2,000 consumers.
The carmaker's poll position was also influenced by the opinions of the CoolBrands Council, a group of commentators and style experts linked to research group Superbrands.
Researchers said that in claiming the top spot Aston Martin beat off stiff competition from online brands such as video-sharing website YouTube, search engine Google and internet auction site eBay.
The popular iPod music player came in second place, while its manufacturer Apple was ranked in seventh place.
YouTube made third place, followed by Danish hi-fi firm Bang and Olufsen, while Google made fifth place ahead of the Sony PlayStation.
Underwear firm Agent Provocateur came in behind Apple in eighth place, followed by games giant Nintendo. Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic completed the top ten.
Sports car maker Ferrari, luxury watchmaker Rolex and chocolate maker Green & Black's were among the other brands listed in the top 20.
Chairman of the CoolBrands Council, Stephen Cheliotis, said the list was "a reflection of our changing needs, wants and interests".
"There seems to be a real divergence between aspiration and practicality but both are deemed cool – which goes to show how the needs and desires of consumers are developing," he explained.