Coke crowned king of global brands: report

Despite losing 3 percent of its brand value through a fall in brand value to $65.32 billion from $67 billion in 2006, the cola giant has managed to retain its top position for the seventh year in a row, the report said.

Like other soft drinks and fast food companies, Coca-Cola has struggled to maintain its brand equity in the face of a growing backlash against supposedly unhealthy consumption. Moreover, its move into healthier drinks has yet to resonate.

Internet search giant Google emerged as the biggest gainer despite its 20th rank with a 44 percent rise of over $5 billion in brand value to $17.8 billion.

Google's focused brand and meteoric rise contrasts with 55th ranked Yahoo!, which, the report said, "was born with similar potential but lacks (or perhaps lost) this singular, unifying purpose."

"Its pursuit of co-branded partnerships may have seemed attractive in purely financial terms, but this detracted from the company's sense of self, causing the brand to fade," the Interbrand study added.

Yahoo!'s brand value stayed flat at $6.07 billion.

"Both Google and Yahoo! started off in a similar position but Google has built a business that is growing all the time but still manages its brand in a very authentic fashion - it still feels like it's run by a couple of skateboarders even though it's much more sizable than it used to be," Graham Hales, executive director at Interbrand, said.

Other major risers include 64th ranked Zara, 44th ranked Nintendo, 88th ranked Starbucks and 33rd ranked Apple.

On Nintendo the report commented that it was "a brand that seemed to be losing its appeal with consumers but the launch of the Wii console and hugely successful DS range has heralded a significant bounce-back in consumer interest."