On the nation's "50 coolest brands"

What is cool Like the man said when asked for a definition of jazz -- if you have to ask, you'll never know. Happily, today there's an alternative. You can ask the Superbrands organisation and their 'Cool Council', who have just announced the nation's 50 coolest brands - the 'Cool BrandLeaders'.

Who exactly are the Cool Council

Funnily enough, a number of them work in the marketing departments of brands not a million miles away from the 'Cool BrandLeaders' list! But they don't seem to be too ashamed, so let's not worry.

The Council has 14 members in total - all of them male, though whether that's 'cool' or not is unclear. There's the likes of DJ Carl Cox, TV presenter Dermot O'Leary, photographer Rankin from Dazed & Confused, and men in (designer) suits from companies like Red Bull, Vespa and Diesel.

I thought Dermot O'Leary presented Big Brother's Little Brother

And what are you suggesting - that Big Brother isn't cool For shame, gentle reader, for shame!

Why publish a cool list

It gets the cool brands in the media -- like here -- and it gets Superbrands themselves in the spotlight. Fair play to 'em. Furthermore, it gives other companies something to aspire to. 'Aspire' being a word that appears frequently in and around the list, along with the likes of "lifestyle", "credibility", "personality" and the all-important "consumer".

And that's the key: consumers buy 'cool' things. 'Cool' sells. Specifically in areas like fashion, the media and the motor industry. Of course, they also buy things that aren't ever going to be cool -- frozen food, septic tanks, school uniforms, ladders -- but no-one from those industries quite made the list!

Don't keep us in suspense. What are the 50 coolest brands

Ducati: Very cool

Chequebooks and credit cards at the ready Then here we go. There's a top five led by motorbike manufacturer Ducati, followed by fashion designer Alexander McQueen, stereo manufacturer Bang & Olufsen, underwear chain Agent Provocateur and the Tate galleries. Nice and diverse, I think you'll agree

Here's all fifty in nicely egalitarian, alphabetical order

adidas (note the lower case 'a' - very "cool"!)
Agent Provocateur
Alexander McQueen
Apple
Asahi
Aveda
Bang & Olufsom
British Airways London Eye
Cacharel
Cosmopolitan
Dazed & Confused
Denim
Diesel
DKNY
Ducati
Gaggia
Goldsmiths College
Hagen-Dazs
Hello Kitty
Home House
Hope & Glory
Jean Paul Gaultier
John Rocha
Kangol
Lambretta
Manumission
Mercedes-Benz
Moist
MTV
Oakley
Olympus
Opium
Po Na Na
Red Stripe
Scalextric ("a pulse racing edition [sic] to parties and as after dinner entertainment")
Selfridges & Co
South Park
Star Wars
TAG Heuer
Tate
The Healing Garden
The Simpsons
Time Out
Tommy Hilfiger
Topshop
Virgin Atlantic
Vitra
Vivienne Westwood
Vokswagen Beetle
Wagamama
Xbox
YO! Sushi

Does the Superbrands Organisation publish any other lists

You'll find some on their website (details below). Coolest Celebrity is David Beckham, just ahead of, I kid you not, Ant & Dec! And Robbie Williams is fourth!! The trouble with these things is that opinion can be divided - so Beckham is also the fifth Least Cool Celebrity of the Moment. His wife is in first place.

Dermot O'Leary is the second Coolest Television Personality, which makes his being on the Cool Council easier to stomach. Dublin is listed as the fifth Coolest Place In The UK, which will come as news to the people of Dublin - which isn't in the UK. But is probably Very Cool all the same.

See also:

• The Superbrands website