America's Hottest Brands 2010

Droid

Droid

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Since Verizon Wireless launched its line of Droid phones, Google's entire Android smartphone platform has seen explosive growth.

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Buick

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Buoyed by Buick's success in China, GM transformed the brand and repositioned it for a different audience. As a result, Buick is the fastest-growing major automotive brand in the U.S.

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Beats by Dr. Dre

Beats by Dr. Dre

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Over the past year, the high-end Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, which cost anywhere from $99 to $450, have slowly started replacing the ubiquitous white ear buds sold with iPods.

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Ciroc

Ciroc

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Made in France, Cîroc vodka has what importer Diageo likes to call "liquid credentials" -- it is one of the first vodkas made from fine French grapes, mauzac blanc and ugni blanc, and it is distilled five times. But what really sets this brand apart are its street credentials.

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Vibram

Vibram

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- It isn't easy to reinvent a 75-year-old company, especially with a product that people have deemed "ugly" and "disgusting," but that's exactly what Vibram has done in the past few years with its FiveFingers shoes brand.

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Conan O'Brien

Conan O'Brien

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- After Conan O'Brien left the Peacock network altogether, instead of fading from view, his star -- and brand -- glimmers more brightly than ever, thanks in large part to an army of online fans and a savvy integrated marketing campaign to promote his new show on TBS, "Conan."

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Skechers

Skechers

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In most cases, being all things to all people is a recipe for disaster. In the case of Skechers, it's led to massive growth. In 2009, net sales were $1.4 billion. In 2010, the company is on track to grow sales by 30% to $2 billion, no easy feat for a mature company.

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Hyundai

Hyundai

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- One year ago, Ad Age named Hyundai the 2009 Marketer of the Year. Hyundai kept rolling in 2010, with year-to-date U.S. sales jumping 21% (twice the industry's growth rate). Factor out fleet volume (such as rental fleets), and Hyundai's retail sales to consumers are up a whopping 29%.

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Bass Pro Shops

Bass Pro Shops

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Few retail stores can say they also serve as theme parks, summer camps and community centers in their regions, but Bass Pro Shops has made itself an exception.

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Ford

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Ford Motor Co. was Ad Age's 2010 Marketer of the Year, so it was an easy call to name Ford one of America's Hottest Brands. But Ford's turnaround is a complex story of doing many things right: an appealing product; high quality, innovative marketing; gutsy financial moves; and a focus on the company's core brand.

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Groupon

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Everyone's going gaga for Groupon. In less than a year, the Chicago-based company has swelled from 3 million subscribers in the U.S. to 25 million subscribers in nearly 30 countries around the world, including Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Russia and Argentina.

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Dos Equis

Dos Equis

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- For Dos Equis importer Heineken USA, "The Most Interesting Man in the World" campaign has meant big sales at a time when other beers are struggling to battle the headwinds of a recession and competition from smaller craft brewers.

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Burberry

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Burberry, under Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey, stands out all the more as one of the brands that has been a beacon of what's possible in the fashion realm.

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Dale's Pale Ale

Dale's Pale Ale

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Dale's Pale Ale, which first made as a home brew by Mr. Katechis while in college, is one of the hottest beers in the sizzling craft category.

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Dawn

Dawn

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Recession and oil spills are certainly bad, but they've ultimately helped sell Procter & Gamble Co.'s Dawn dish soap in the past year as the brand that combined innovation, value messaging and doing good to do very well for itself.

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5 Gum

5 Gum

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- With its slick packaging, innovative flavors and highly produced ads, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.'s 5 gum continues to gain momentum in the sugarless-gum category.

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Tresemme

Tresemme

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Alberto-Culver Co.'s Tresemmé was the only mid-tier value brand among major entrants to gain share in U.S. shampoo, conditioner and styling alike last year.

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M&Ms

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- In a salty-sweet combo, M&M's Pretzel Chocolate Candies debuted in May, and their instant popularity has helped candy giant Mars post impressive sales gains for the M&M's brand.

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The Hunger Games

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For a young-adult novel to find "Harry Potter"-level success is a feat often attempted but rarely achieved over the past decade. (Anyone remember "A Series of Unfortunate Events"?) But if any teen-lit franchise shows the potential to reach the critical mass of teen-wizard and vampire proportions, it's Scholastic's "Hunger Games" series, which -- tellingly -- is about to get the film treatment.

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PopCap

PopCap

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- From its launch in spring 2009, "Plants vs. Zombies" captured attention with its friendly-looking zombie attackers and funky plant weapons. Casual gamers and hard-core console players were both drawn to the game.

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