Looking around my kitchen (early) earlier today I realised how many of my basic appliances were well (know) brands. Had I bought them because of an (assure) of the quality of the products, the reputation or the reviews taken from fellow purchasers on the internet? Or (simple) because of the brand? It makes you wonder. We are constantly bombarded with advertisements, product placements and information that it can be difficult to distinguish between what is a (genuine) good product and what we have been led to believe is good based on the ad campaign. The Interbrand group compiles (list) of the best known brand names around the world and a cursory glance at the top ten reveals an (alarm) trend towards one country in particular. What’s more I realised that I was the (own) or a user of virtually every brand on the list. Perhaps you know them too? Think of a company that makes phones and mp3 players, a popular search engine, a fizzy drink and a software giant and you’ll have the top four (immediate) . After that there is naturally a fast food restaurant as well as online bookstore which add to the eight American brands that populate the top ten.