Advertising, ad campaigns, ad agencies, and the people that make it happen

The annual survey by online branding magazine brandchannel.com again shows Google in the top spot, closely followed by Apple with YouTube and Wikipedia debuting in the top five for the first time. The 3,625 branding professionals and students who voted, awarded upstart companies star status when asked: "Which brand had the most impact on our lives in 2006?" Even more impressive for Google is that fact that third place YouTube, is now, since last October, part of Google. As editor Anthony Zumpano noted in a statement "The dramatic debut of these newcomers -- YouTube in third and Wikipedia in fourth -- is an indication of a larger trend -- the growing impact of online brands built on user-generated content.” And in a refreshing change from the high-tech brands that dominated the global poll, Latin America's top two are party beverages Corona beer and Bacardi rum. Nice to know that South America has its priorities right!

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Forget Google. Drop in for a Bacardi!