Mercedes-Benz is cool

Mercedes-Benz has made its debut in the annual CoolBrands list, ranked 16th out of over 10,000 independently identified brands.
 
Now in its 11th year and co-ordinated by The Centre for Brand Analysis, the list is voted for by 3,000 British consumers and a panel of 39 key influencers including Millie Kendall MBE, Luke Peters, Plan B and David Harewood MBE.
 
From the initial 10,000, a shortlist of 1,200 brands were ranked for innovation, originality, style, authenticity, desirability and uniqueness – each attributes classed by the organisers that play a part in a brand being cool.
 
The top non-British automotive brand was Mercedes-Benz. The outright winner was the technology brand, Apple.
 
Mercedes-Benz is in the midst of launching a range of exciting new cars, including the new A-Class and the upcoming CLS Shooting Brake. Each mixes elegance with innovative technology, performance and comfort. Headed by the SLS AMG, the Mercedes-Benz passenger car range is more diverse than ever before – appealing to different needs, different budgets and preferences.
 
Rob Halloway, Communications Director at Mercedes-Benz commented on the results: "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”.  Like style over fashion, cool endures where trendiness tends to be transient.
 
"The SLS AMG is a new supercar for a new generation, and the A-Class is just as cool, but a lot more attainable. Radically different from its predecessor, the new A-Class has been designed and positioned to be really desirable to customers who previously might not have considered a Mercedes-Benz.  The Concept Style Coupé gives another hint of what’s coming – and we’ve got lots more “must-have” compact cars on the way.
 
"We’re backing up everything we’re doing with great products, great people, excellent support of key events, new ways of communicating these cars to new and existing customers – and we’re going to do it in some style.”
 
The top 20 CoolBrands list 2012:

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