Could the best British brand be Sony?

The Marketing Society, a network of senior marketers in the UK, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a selection of "50 Golden Brands," and website visitors are invited to vote on their favorite--um, favourite.

The 50 offer golden examples of how brands cross national lines. British brands like Schweppes, Guinness, and Virgin have become familiar worldwide, while brands from the US, Europe and Asia are embedded in the UK (e.g. Levi's, Lego, Sony).

But it's also comforting to see that brand globalisation only goes so far. It takes a British perspective to appreciate the iconic value of a Hovis, Andrex, or Fairy Liquid, not to mention my own choice: