We often hear of surveys that try to determine the best, most desirable or reliable brand, but seldom do we come across one that simply seeks out the 'coolest'.
For that we have Britain's annual CoolBrands list, in which the brands are voted for by 3000 UK consumers as well as a panel of 39 'key influencers' that includes names like Millie Kendall, Luke Peters and David Harewood.
While initial list included 10 000 eligible brands from across the consumer spectrum, there were two car companies that made it into the top 20.
Just like last year, Aston Martin emerged as the top automotive brand, in third place overall, while Mercedes-Benz took 16th spot.
Apple and YouTube clinched the top two overall spots.
After the initial 10 000 brands were whittled down to a shortlist of 1200, respondents were asked to rank the brands for innovation, originality, style, authenticity, desirability and uniqueness.
In response to the results, Mercedes-Benz communications director Rob Halloway had an interesting definition of 'cool'.
“I think by its very nature, coolness is in the perception of others. I think that cool things have a certain style, elegance and swagger about them. Cool people possess all these qualities, and cool brands blend a timeless quality with absolute topicality. It sounds like an oxymoron, but that's what makes cool 'cool'.”
TOP 20 COOLBRANDS:
1. Apple
2. YouTube
3. Aston Martin
4. Twitter
5. Google
6. BBC iPlayer
7. Glastonbury
8. Virgin Atlantic
9. Bang & Olufsen
10. Liberty
11. Sony
12. Bose
13. Häagen-Dazs
14. Selfridges
15. Ben & Jerrys
16. Mercedes-Benz
17. Vogue
18. Skype
19. Nike
20. Niko