James Bond boosts Aston Martin’s coolness

Aston Martin has been named Britain’s coolest brand for the third year in a row, thanks to its coolest customer – James Bond of course.

The car brand has been starring in the 007 spy movies since 1964 when it debuted in Goldfinger, starring Sean Connery.  

The iconic status car will is soon to star in the eagerly anticipated Quantum of Solace – which will also mark Daniel Craig’s second appearance as the sexy spy.

The CoolBrand’s annual list of the most-iconic UK brands rated the iPhone as the second coolest brand, followed by its maker and owner – Apple.

YouTube was voted in the fifth spot while its owner, search engine giant Google, came in the sixth spot.

Ferrari and Lamborghini also made the top 20, coming in at the 13th and 20th spot respectively. But what sets the Aston Martin apart from the rest?

CoolBrands council chairman Stephen Cheliotis said: “There’s no doubt James Bond is one of the UK’s most recognisable icons and the recent update has seen 007 come back cooler than ever before.

“With excitement surrounding the release of the new film reaching fever pitch it is clear this is really contributing to Aston Martin’s cool status. The brand is indelibly linked with James Bond because of the past success of the films and not only how they’re still hugely popular – but how the film and James Bond sums up a lot of what it means to be smooth, stylish and cool.”

Over the past nine decades, Aston Martin has witnessed many changes, according to its CEO Dr Ulrich Bez. He says that it’s the car makers “long and distinguished history” that makes it so successful.

The sports cars are hand-built, which may explain the price tag, and have been around since 1914.

Founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford believed that a sports car should have a distinctive and individual character – which could be said to be synonomoous with Mr James Bond himself making the collaboration perhaps one of the most successful and distinct product placements in movie history.

An Aston Martin combines three important elements: power, beauty and soul according to Bez. Something we all strive for perhaps – but is that what defines cool?

Here’s a clip of how not to handle your Aston – no matter how cool you are.

CoolBrands’ Top 20 coolest brands according to CoolBrands:

1. Aston Martin

2. iPhone

3. Apple

4. Bang & Olufsen

5. YouTube

6. Google

7. Nintendo

8. Agent Provocateur

9. Rolex

10. Tate Modern

11. Dom Perignon

12. Virgin Atlantic

13. Ferrari

14. Ducati

15. Playstation

16. Sony

17. Nike

18. Boss

19. Facebook

20. Lamborghini

Cheliotis added: “On the one hand we’ve got established brands making the cool list because of their heritage and status. But we can also see the most modern and high-tech brands at the top of the list because they offer an avenue for escapism and fun as evidenced by YouTube or Nintendo.

“There is one unifying key to all of the brands – they’re all brands that have consistently innovated, refused to stand still and are at the top of their game.”