This year's CoolBrands survey of young UK urbanities aged 18-35 shows cricket is the new cool. Andrew (Freddie) Flintoff was voted as the coolest celebrity knocking David Beckham into second place, England winning the Ashes came top as the coolest moment of 2005 by 30% and cricket came fifth in the coolest pastimes. Winning a sporting event has had a big impact, as has the extensive media coverage, giving the English a new sense of pride and renewed interest in the sport.
The media also seems to have played a large role in people's opinions on celebrities with Kate Moss taking 25% of the votes on the most seriously uncool celebrities, beaten to the top by Jordan with 29%, who was also at the top last year. Both Kate Moss and Jordan feature in the coolest celebrity category, though with 5% for Kate and 4% for Jordan. Jude Law's affair may have something to do with wife, Sienna featuring third in the coolest celebrity list and Jude Law being in the seriously uncool category, when last year he was the fifth coolest.
If you wanted to be the coolest, according to this survey you would be doing extreme sports or be a DJ/Musician in your spare time, you'd listen to James Blunt or Coldplay, read the Sunday Times, be wearing brands such as Alexander McQueen or ? for a cheaper option - Topshop, shopping in Magma, drinking Stella and taking a rough guide with you on your city break.
The city is probably unsurprisingly 64% cooler than the countryside with London winning the coolest city category and Edinburgh and Manchester coming joint second. If you do find yourself in London on a cool city break then the top three coolest places to visit, according to Londoners, are Wagamama, the London Eye and the Design Museum.
是“酷”还是“盲从”？
根据今年CoolBrands对18-35年龄段的英国城市青年调查，板球运动已成为时下最新的潮流。安德鲁（弗雷迪）•弗林托夫当选为最酷的明星，大卫•贝克汉姆屈居第二。30%的投票结果显示，英格兰板球队赢得“阿什杯”是2005年最酷的亮点，而板球也在最酷休闲运动中名列第五。赢得一项体育赛事影响深远，广泛的媒体报道使英格兰人重拾自豪，再次燃起了对该项运动的兴趣。
媒体也在很大程度上左右了公众对名人的看法，在最不酷的明星评选中，凯特•摩斯获得25%的选票，只在得票率为29%的乔丹之后，这已是乔丹第二年位居榜首。凯特•摩斯与乔丹也被评为最酷的明星，但分别只获得5%和4%的选票。由于裘德•洛的绯闻事件，使他的妻子西亚娜在最酷明星榜中排名第三，而裘德•洛本人则被纳入最不酷明星之列，去年他曾是最酷明星榜上的第五名。
根据这项调查，如果想成为最酷的人，就应该在业余时间参加极限运动或当一名DJ乐师，还需听詹姆斯•布朗特或酷玩乐队的音乐，阅读《星期日泰晤士报》，身穿亚历山大•麦克奎恩名牌服装或穿便宜一些的Topshop名牌服装。购物要去Magma，喝酒要喝Stella，在城市休闲游时还要手持一份《简明指南》。
64%的受访者认为城市比乡村更酷，这一点毫不奇怪。伦敦被评为了最酷的城市，爱丁堡和曼彻斯特并列第二。如果有一天你在伦敦休闲游，一定要去伦敦人眼中三处最酷的景点：拉面道、伦敦眼和设计博物馆。
你是否赞同这项调查结果？是否赞同比酷活动这样的做法? 下面是我们采访对象的一些观点。
来自伦敦的17岁的阿莉莎说：“酷就是跟风，就是没有主见。”
“詹姆斯•布朗特和克里斯•马丁怎么可能酷？他俩可是英国最乏味的音乐家。”来自利物浦的23岁的克莱尔如是说。
“任何事情只要公司一介入，就再也酷不起来了。比酷活动说到底是个公关问题。” 30岁的艾克说道，他来自曼彻斯特。
Do you agree with the survey or the whole idea of listing what's cool and what's not? Here are some views from people we spoke to.
"You're conformist and sheep-like if you are cool," says Alisha, aged 17, from London.
"How can James Blunt and Chris Martin be cool - they are two of the dullest musicians in the UK," says Clair, aged 23, from Liverpool.
"Anything endorsed by a company makes it uncool. When it all boils down to it the whole cool industry is just down to PR," says Ike, 30, from Manchester. |
