Simply The Best?

Or just the best advertising?

Marketwatch has a fascinating article (and a brief one, oh thee of short attention span) on the ten brand names picked as "best" by over two thousand adults polled. Basically, the subjects in the poll were asked to name three brands they thought were the best ... without being given a list of brand names, or even markets (consumer electronics, automobiles, etc.)

But does this really denote "best" or simply "best known?" How many people out there who made Sony number one actually own any Sony products? The last Sony product I owned was a Walkman ... 20 years ago.

Yeah, the VAIO's popular, but more popular than Dell (number two)? Don't think so. Yes, I know Sony's is the number consumer electronics manufacturer worldwide ... but the study was done in the US -- and much of Sony's sales are overseas.

Coca-Cola was number three ... but Pepsi still has a slightly larger share of the market than Coke (and didn't finish in the top ten).

Fix Or Repair Daily (aka Ford) finished in fifth. My friend whose Ford has been recalled five times probably would take (major) issue with the "best" claim made by these people.

It would be fascinating to see this survey include another question. "Do you own any products by the companies you named?"

Something tells me the percentage who would say "yes" would be pretty low.