Nation's hottest brands include unfamiliar names

Pepperidge Farm

This kid may not know it, but he's got his hands on one of the hottest brands in America.

By Allison Linn

If you have your finger on the pulse of the nation?s hottest brands, you?re wearing a Uniqlo jacket, zipping around town in a Kia Soul, cooking with Skillet Street bacon spread and taking notes with a Sharpie pen.

Advertising Age on Monday revealed?its list of the nation?s hottest brands. It?s a mix of older brands that have managed to find new life and up-and-comers you may not have heard of, yet.

Among the ones that may not ring a bell to everyone: Japanese retailer Uniqlo, which Ad Age chose because of its success in cracking the tough Manhattan retail market. The advertising magazine also lauded Skillet Street for taking the grassroots popularity of a hamburger topping called ?bacon jam? to a national audience and Pickle Juice Sport, a sport drink made of exactly what you think it?s made of.

Several brands you may remember from your childhood also make the list. Ad Age gives Sharpie?props for expanding its line of writing products and getting celebrities to use the company?s pens for signing autographs. The toddler-friendly Pepperidge Farm Goldfish also earns a spot on the list for juicing up the 50-year-old brand with offerings like crust-free bread with its signature smiley face on it.

Read the full list here.

Readers, what's your favorite brand?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/28/9068678-the-nations-hottest-brands-include-some-unfamiliar-names

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