It’s had its day now, but the once achingly fashionable St Martin’s Lane Hotel in London (that of Light Bar fame) understood that coolness needs no signpost. Those in the know breezed through the revolving doors with confidence, while the rest of us looked at the nameless exterior and wondered why the curtains/drapes didn’t meet the floor. It was with some incredulity then, that I ingested the news that online travel agent, Opodo, is “officially cool”.
The company has been listed by the UK’s self-appointed CoolBrands Council, joining a list of other hip brands such as Audi, Diesel, Guinness and Playstation. Coolness is an attribute many brands covet, but I doubt it’s something that can be bestowed, like a knighthood or honorary degree. If a brand is determined to be cool by some council and an online poll, then you can bet your boots the real fashionistas will have long since moved on.
To enter into a debate about the definition of cool is more than likely to end in disagreement (though feel free to air your views below). Personally, I tend to regard coolness as applying to something that’s not only outstandingly good and genuinely unique, but also that this thing remains largely undiscovered by the bourgeoisie, let alone the proletariat. It’s that rare thing about which you can feel rather self-satisfied, smug in the knowledge that only a few are in on the secret.
That’s certainly not the case with the brands listed by the CoolBrands Council. Coca-Cola, msn, Nokia and Prêt a Manger are all perfectly nice in their own way, but does using their products or services really make you feel all that special? You and ten million others.
Perhaps then, there’s another definition of cool that better applies in these cases. The CoolBrands Council’s own qualifiers are that the brand must be “original, innovative, authentic, unique and stylish”. You could argue the case for and against these attributes with those brands I’ve picked on here, but as exemplars of product/service quality and consistency of brand message, it’s fair to define these CoolBrands listed brands as cool.
All the same, it seems to emasculate the notion when one has to shout about it. And be warned, coolness is a fickle beast; anything less than substantive that finds its way onto a pedestal is set up for a fall.



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