Although David Beckham no longer plays soccer for England, he remains the most powerful celebrity in the UK market, according to advertising agency Millward Brown’s quarterly CeBra (Celebrity Brand) rankings. The listings are compiled measuring celebrity power, based on criteria such as familiarity, likeability, buzz and status as a positive role model. The rankings aims to help marketing and media agencies identify celebrities and brand partnerships with the greatest potential in the marketplace. The survey was conducted with 2,000 UK consumers, who were asked about 100 celebrities and 100 brands. What was interesting from a motor racing point of view was that Lewis Hamilton ranked fifth, behind Beckham, comedians Ant & Dec, singer Kylie Minogue and movie star Will Smith, but ahead of other names, such as celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
Television wit Stephen Fry was named as the most likably celebrity and Joanna Lumley and Judi Dench were surprise inclusions on the list, apparently indicating a trend towards older women.
Curious, the 2009 World Champion, Jenson Button is not among the ten most powerful celebritys.
“Television wit Stephen Fry was named as the most likably celebrity…”
notwithstanding his bigotry toward the Catholic Church, which,coincidentally, is Lewis Hamilton’s faith.
cvrt,
I guess the church should worry about no-one caring…
Please please please can we keep religion out of this blog???
Stephen Stuart,
I agree with that wholeheartedly…
It’s an eclectic mix, that list :-/
Catholic Church…bigotry…I associate those phrases but not in that context…
no one caring? hahaha
Poll the grid this weekend and ask whether they care. Go ahead,ask Kubica,Alonso,Hamilton,Massa etc etc etc.
I find it ironic how many UK F1 journos write about the new Senna film being ‘inspirational’, when he was among the most ardent Catholic athletes of the 20th century and took great sustenance from it.
Who was the last great athlete who stood up and thanked Dawkins and his fellow travelers for inspiration?
cvrt,
I do not necessarily disagree with you, I am just stating the realities. From me, Senna’s religion was fascinating, but that is not enough.
“Stephen Stuart
Please please please can we keep religion out of this blog???”
And indeed motor racing….remember what Prost had to say on the subject?
Cynic,
I agree. No more religion
“I find it ironic how many UK F1 journos write about the new Senna film being ‘inspirational’, when he was among the most ardent Catholic athletes of the 20th century and took great sustenance from it.”
Surely one can be inspired by another person, and even be inspired by their own faith in their own beliefs, without actually sharing those beliefs.
In that respect, I fail to see your point.
Stephen Stuart,
I fully respect your request, but until you’ve sat your arse in one of these, you just don’t know where many (not all) get their resolve.
32 yrs ago today I said goodbye to Gunnar Nilsson at Charing Cross. His memory outweighs any argument over faith.
He also thought he was invincible
The religion blog is that way ————->
Thanks very much.
If Jenson shaved sometimes he might be a bit more marketable. He wouldn’t have looked like that in the Ron Dennis days. Lewis is as polished as a billiard ball, so it’s no wonder he’s so powerful.
cvrt – you missed the point – if anyone stood up and thanked Dawkins then that would make him tantamount to a god and his whole thesis is that there isn’t such a thing and belief in it is delusional
It’s a measure of Hamilton’s impact on his chosen sport that he is 5th on the list. Although a globally watched sport, F1 is not everyone’s cup of tea and in terms of ‘exposure’ we don’t see too much of him (chat shows, interviews outside of the F1 press etc), so perhaps that’s where the appeal lies?
Even if you do tune into every race, his true ‘celebrity exposure’ is very limited, by that I mean when he’s in the car, the only way he’s communicating to us is via the ‘wow factor’ of his overtaking moves, again, perhaps that’s where the appeal lies.
When he’s interviewed on camera he’s just like any other well trained F1 PR robot, so from that pov, I’m surpised Jenson is not up there, though perhaps that’s because he was on the back-burner for so long.
Any debate about the Catholic church requires balance – can I suggest we invite the views of thousands of children who have been abused by members of the church.
[...] Lewis’s new opposition… Although David Beckham no longer plays soccer for England, he remains the most powerful celebrity in the UK market, [...] [...]
the kitchen cynic,
Really sorry for my ignorance, but I’d really like to know what Prost said about it.
Richard Craig,
And I reckon Alonso during his McLaren tenure in 2007
became unconcerned about facial hair after he fell out with Ron Dennis?
Hi, a post has been attributed to me that I did not leave – apologies to the ‘real’ poster and cvrt (see Oct 20th @ 16:30)
back to the subject maybe ?
F1 is a minority interest ; so the surprise is not that button , for example , is nowhere in the list
the surprise is that hamilton is so high
PT
I can’t remember the exact quote but it came shortly after Senna nearly bundled him into a pitwall and was something like “Ayrton has a small problem which is that he thinks because he believes in God he can’t kill himself”. I’m sure Joe will remember it better.
Cynic,
I remember he said something along those lines, but I am not sure it was wise. Perhaps he was trying to wind Ayrton up.
Prost, as usual, hit the nail right on the head. Senna was a hugely talented and brave driver who we all (likely Prost included) admired for his raw speed and skill, but he also had the trademark blind self-confidence, sureness of belief, and righteous indignation of the Christian “believer”. I have no doubt that a small subconcious section of his mind was convinced that God would protect him during his most extreme risks. As Senna found out, God has proven time and again (not just in racing) that he is not quite as benevolent as many folks believe him to be.
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