The is have it... Apple overtakes Aston Martin in poll for coolest UK brands

The luxury car lost the top spot to the technology superbrand, which has just launched its iPhone5 to near universal acclaim, falling to third place after dominating the annual CoolBrands list for six of the last seven years.

The 11th annual poll placed YouTube second, Twitter fourth and Google fifth.

Just under 3,000 British consumers and a panel of 39 “key influencers”, including chart acts Rizzle Kicks and Plan B and 
actor David Harewood, ranked a shortlist of 1,200 brands from more than 10,000 initially considered.

The panel scored each brand for factors including innovation, originality, style, authenticity, desirability and uniqueness ahead of the public vote.

The BBC iPlayer, the Glastonbury festival, Virgin Atlantic, Bang & Olufsen and department store Liberty rounded out the top 10.

Almost half the list is made up of technology and media brands compared with just a quarter last year, while a record number of online brands made the top 20.

Among the highest movers into the top 20 were Twitter, Skype and Nikon.

YouTube was up eight places from last year while Facebook did not feature at all in the top 20.

It is also the most “affordable” list yet, with 25 per cent of the brands free to consumers including YouTube, Google, Twitter, Skype and BBC iPlayer, and 15 per cent costing under £10 including Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s and Vogue.

Luxury brands that have fallen out of the top 20 include Maserati, Ferrari, Chanel, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.

Stephen Cheliotis, chairman of the CoolBrands expert council, said: “It is interesting that in this age of austerity our perception of cool has increasingly shifted from aspirational, luxury brands to free or more affordable brands that provide us with pleasure.

“The presence of the online brands like BBC iPlayer, Twitter, YouTube and Skype are a great case in point.

“Whether watching our favourite shows online, sharing opinions, viewing comedy clips or speaking with friends from across the world, these brands bring us inexpensive entertainment and enjoyment that we appreciate and value highly.

“Perhaps, reflective of its lack of success since becoming a public company, Facebook has failed to join its peers in the top 20.”