Aston Martin coolest brand in UK

Aston Martin, James Bond's car of choice, is the coolest brand in Britain, while the iPod and video sharing website YouTube are runners-up in the trendy stakes, according to a poll.

The fictional British superspy was back behind the wheel of an Aston Martin in the latest Bond film, Casino Royale, helping drive the British luxury car maker to pole position in the survey.

"The success of Casino Royale - and the rekindled love affair between the British public and Bond as a result - shows there is a deeply ingrained association with the man and the car in the minds of Britons," said Superbrands' CoolBrands Council.

Apple's portable iPod media player came second, video sharing internet site YouTube came third, Danish luxury audiovisual hardware firm Bang & Olufsen ranked fourth and internet search engine Google took fifth.

TOP 20 'COOL BRANDS'
1. Aston Martin
2. iPod
3. YouTube
4. Bang and Olufsen
5. Google
6. Playstation
7. Apple
8. Agent Provocateur
9. Nintendo
10. Virgin Atlantic
11. Ferrari
12. Ducati
13. eBay
14. Rolex
15. Tate Modern
16. Prada
17. Lamborghini
18. Green & Black's
19. iTunes
20. Amazon

"The Top 20 is a reflection of our changing needs, wants and interests," said Stephen Cheliotis, chairman of the CoolBrands Council.

"You could argue that it's split into two pretty clearly defined categories - on the one hand, things can become cool by virtue of their necessity or prevalence in your life, such as Google or Amazon.

"On the other, the things you really want, but may know you'll never get - such as a Rolex or a Ferrari - are considered just as cool.

"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."

The Superbrands organisation presents expert and consumer opinion on branding.

Superbrands compiled the list from the votes of 2246 consumers.