Top 50-100 Brands

51. Parker

Parker still leads the field in the pen category ahead of higher-end rival Mont Blanc. Its status has risen in China, India and Singapore.

52. Lux

Unilever's Lux dominates the shower gel and soap category, but has ground to make up on rival shampoo brands in the region. It performs well overall in China, rising up the rankings to 48, and falls within the top 100 in India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

2009 Ranking 42 Adspend US$569,476,612 Main markets Regional Major categories Shampoo

53. Bridgestone

The Japanese tyre brand is the domestic favourite and ranks second overall. Elsewhere, its leading markets are Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand.

54. BMW

Ranking second in the automotive category, BMW has stood strong over a turbulent year for the industry. While its appeal has diminished somewhat in markets like Japan, it performs well in China, Malaysia and Singapore.

55. Darlie

The Taiwanese toothpaste remains extremely popular across Asia, ranking just behind market leader Colgate.

56. Nivea

Beiersdorf-owned Nivea again leads the male skincare category, but falls behind rivals Olay, SK-II and Shiseido in the female equivalent. The brand is strongest in Thailand, where it ranks tenth overall, and also has a good presence in Australia, Malaysia and India.

57. L'Oreal

The French company falls just behind Nivea in both the male and female skincare categories, and performs well in the cosmetics sector, where it ranks second to Shiseido. In this category it is the preferred brand in both China and Singapore.

58. FedEx

FedEx is the region's second most popular courier. It is strongest in Singapore, but also does well in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Korea.

59. Marlboro

Marlboro is the region's favourite cigarette brand by some distance. It is most popular in Hong Kong and Thailand, where it climbs the rankings this year. Other standout markets include Singapore, Malaysia and Korea.

60. Playstation

Playstation falls behind Nintendo in a highly competitive sector, but remains the leading console brand in India and Malaysia. It is weakest in Thailand.

2009 Ranking 27 Adspend US$19,266,203 Main markets Regional Major categories Gaming console

61. Haagen-Dazs

The US brand again dominates the ice cream category. While it fails to make much of an impression in Australia or Korea, it enjoys a high profile in Hong Kong, Japan, China and Singapore.

62. Dell

While it slides down the rankings this year, Dell remains the region's second most popular computer brand, behind Hewlett-Packard. It scores well in Australia and India. It is less recognised for its printers, ranking ninth in the category overall. 

63. Visa

Visa solidifies its position as the region's top credit card, although it continues to face a challenge in Korea and Thailand, where it is trumped by strong local providers.

64. Gucci

Gucci performs well across the luxury fashion, women's fashion and women's shoe categories, where it ranks second. It has lower awareness in the men's fashion and shoes categories. The brand's strongest market is Hong Kong, followed by Korea and Taiwan.

65. Huggies

The Kimberley-Clark diaper brand is second in its category, beating market leader Pampers across Australia, India and Korea.

66. Air Asia

A strong brand image, driven by flamboyant founder Tony Fernandes, and good integration of marketing on and offline have contributed to Air Asia's domination of the budget airline sector. The brand understandably has the strongest profile in its core markets of Malaysia and Singapore.

67. Dior

The luxury brand is best known for its fragrances, ranking second after Chanel. It falls within the top 10 in the luxury fashion and women's luxury fashion categories, but fails to do so in the cosmetics sector. The brand scores highest in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.

2009 Ranking 74 Adspend US$123,129,021 Main markets Regional Luxury fashion retail Instant noodle

68. Gatorade

The Pepsico brand moves up the rankings to overtake Pocari Sweat as the region's most popular sports drink. It is most popular in Australia and Korea, and breaks into the top 100 in China, Singapore and Thailand.

69. Pocari Sweat

Despite losing out to Gatorade in its core category, the Japanese ¡¥ion supply drink' moves up the rankings overall. Its highest placement is in Hong Kong at 29; it also outranks Gatorade in its home market, Korea and Taiwan.

70. Mercedes Benz

No move on last year for the German carmaker. It remains behind BMW in third place in its category overall, and has been overtaken by the brand in Hong Kong, its most successful market.

71. Kao

The Japanese FMCG company operates across a number of household and personal care categories, but ranks highest for its detergent and shower gel products. It also makes an appearance in the shampoo category, where it comes ninth. It is strongest in the domestic market.

72. Sony Ericsson

The joint-venture ranks third in its category. It is aiming to step up competition in Korea with the launch of the Xperia X10 smartphone.

73. Amul

The Indian dairy brand ranks fourth regionally, and is top in its category in its home market, where it is the fourth biggest brand overall.

74. SIA

The carrier maintains its edge on Cathay Pacific as regional leader. Other than at home, where it ranks fifteenth overall, its profile is highest in Malaysia.

75. Sanyo

The Osaka-based electronics company falls well behind domestic rivals across most sectors it competes in. Its highest scores are in the camcorder and washing machine categories.

76. Acer

With strong scores at home and in Thailand, the Taiwanese brand moves up one place in the computer category, finishing ahead of Sony in third.

77. Pantene

The P&G shampoo retains the lead in its category. Its strongest performance is in Thailand, but it is also popular in Australia and India.

78. Citi

Citi has made significant progress in Taiwan and Malaysia, where it climbs almost 80 places, and it ranks well above HSBC in Singapore.

79. Heinz

Heinz trails Maggi and Lee Kum Kee in the sauce and canned food category, but claims the lead in the baby food rankings. It has the highest level of consumer appeal in Australia, Singapore and China.

2009 Ranking 89 Adspend US$8,774,921 Main markets Regional Major categories Canned food

80. Kraft

The foods giant leads the cheese and yoghurt category. Top markets include Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

81. HSBC

HSBC's strong regional presence ensures its lead in the banking category, ahead of Kookmin Bank and Maybank. It also comes fourth in the credit card rankings.

82. Nissin

While Nissin improves on last year's ranking, it remains behind Maggi in the instant noodle category. Its presence is strongest in Japan and Hong Kong.

83. Wrigley's Arrow

Wrigley's ranking slips somewhat this year, but the US brand still outstrips Lotte as the region's chewing gum of choice. It is rated especially highly by consumers in Malaysia, Australia and Hong Kong.

84. Guardian

Its reach is not as broad as Hong Kongbased retail conglomerate Watsons, but Guardian ranks as the region's second biggest pharmacy brand. Its key markets are Malaysia and Singapore.

85. FamilyMart

The convenience store chain moves into the top 100 this year, coming just behind 7-Eleven in its category. The brand's highest ranking is in Taiwan, but it also has a respectable level of awareness across the markets of Korea, Japan and Thailand.

86. Johnson & Johnson

Having made its debut in the top 100 last year, the personal care conglomerate fares less well this time around. Its best showing is in the shower gel category, where it comes third overall It also ranks as one of the region's top 10 diaper brands.

87. Morinaga

Morinaga is a major chocolate brand in Japan, but regionally it is better known for its sweet and candy products. The brand ranks fifth in this category.

88. AIA

The Hong Kong-based insurance giant is the region's first choice. Apart from Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand are its top markets.

89. NTUC

The National Trades Union Congress is a leading player in the supermarket category in Singapore.

90. Ferrero Rocher

The Italian chocolate brand benefits from a well-developed gifting culture in China and Taiwan, scoring particularly highly in both markets. It is the region's second-favourite chocolate overall.

91. MasterCard

MasterCard is Asia-Pacific's secondhighest ranked credit card, but it falls outside the top 100 in all markets surveyed except Australia.

92. Kellogg's

The cereal giant jumps to the front of the category, beating Quaker and Nestle. It has a following in Australia, Korea and Singapore.

93. Cathay Pacific

Cathay moves up the table to sit behind Singapore Airlines in the full-service category. Unsurprisingly, it scores highest in Hong Kong, but also performs well in Taiwan.

2009 Ranking 118 Adspend US$8,038,263 Main markets Regional Major categories Airline

94. Daikin

Daikin has yet to regain its position as top air conditioner. However, it remains first choice in Singapore, and second in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.

95. Heineken

The region's leading beer brand has benefited from a raised profile as an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup. It is best liked in Taiwan and Thailand, while its lowest rankings are in Australia, India and Japan, where it competes with strong local brands. In Singapore, it recently rolled out an experiential marketing initiative around its new aluminium bottle.

2009 Ranking 97 Adspend US$14,461,928 Main markets Regional Major categories Beer

96. Mont Blanc

The luxury pen's numerous extensions and charitable initiative with Unicef have helped raise its profile. It is popular in Singapore and Taiwan.

97. Quaker

The US cereal company enters the top 100 for the first time this year. It has a lower profile than Kellogg's, but is extremely popular in Taiwan, and relatively so in Hong Kong.

98. Head & Shoulders

The anti-dandruff shampoo brand moves up one place in the table this year. It ranks second after Pantene in the shampoo category, and rates highest among consumers in China, where it climbs furthest on last year.

99. MSN

Microsoft's MSN emerges third in the social networking category, but scores less well in the search and website rankings. It is most popular among users in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Singapore, the company recently joined with MediaCorp to launch xinmsn, a portal combining the companies' platform's and services.

100. Hyundai

The Korean carmaker makes its debut in the top 100 this year, ranking fifth in the domestic market (a rise of one place on last year) and in its category overall. Outside of the automotive industry, Hyundai is also a major credit card operator at home, and ranks thirteenth in the category.