World's Most Valuable Brands

10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . and 1

Brandz is known for ranking the world's brands in terms of their global value. This year's ranking has a surprise in the #8 position.

Here they are, the world's most valuable brands:

10. McDonald's (US-based) - All-day breakfast and healthy menu items have helped keep this brand on the list.

9. IBM (US-based) - Venerable tech brand is leveraging cloud computing and its Watson brand for growth.

8. Tencent (China-based) - Wildly popular WeChat messaging platform has moved this company into the global eye.

7. Visa (US-based) - Plastic is big again...and Costco's switch from Amex to Visa was a boost for growth.

6. AT&T (US-based) - Telecom giant that's trying to get even bigger by acquiring Time Warner. Will the deal go through?

5. Facebook (US-based) - Of course FB is on the top 10 list. Advertising revenue is growing every day, and Facebook Live is increasing its reach.

4. Amazon (US-based) - Surprised that this brand is only #4? I was. This is the home of Alexa, Prime, and Amazon Web Services. Not to mention Amazon Prime Day.

3. Microsoft (US-based) - A mainstay of top 10 brand lists. Tech has been prominent for more than a decade, and Microsoft remains a leader in software and game tech.

2. Apple (US-based) - Often topping brand lists, this year it's #2 despite solid product sales and high brand preferability ratings.

1. Google (US-based) - Often trades places with Apple on brand rankings, this year Google tops the list because of its innovative image and lifestyle tech (AI and more).

Winter Olympics: Ad Avalanche Across Platforms and Media

The Winter Olympics ad avalanche is in full swing, with integration across platforms and media. For example, the "Olympic Preview" issue of Time included these ads:

• Citibank/Visa, featuring Ted Ligety, U.S. alpine skier (in Citi's commercials, too)
• United Airlines, flying Team USA (photo of pairs skaters)
• AT&T, featuring Shani Davis, U.S. speedskater (in commercials too)

Among viral ads, Procter & Gamble has attracted millions of views with its "Thank you, Mom" ads, celebrating the role of mothers in supporting their Olympic athlete children. P&G calls itself "the proud sponsor of Moms" on its "thank you mom" Facebook page (more than 800,000 likes) and Twitter account (@thankyoumom, #thankyoumom). Visiting the P&G YouTube channel, these commercials are trending into the millions of views:

• "Pick Them Back Up" is an inspiring commercial that has been shared countless times on FB and discussed by many moms I know. More than 13 million views.
• "Raising an Olympian: Lindsey Vonn" has garnered nearly 2 million YouTube views, despite Lindsay's inability to compete at Sochi this month.
• "Raising an Olympian: Mikaela Shiffrin" has more than 1 million YouTube views.
• "Raising an Olympian: Evan Lysacek" has 1.3 million views, even though this US gold medalist won't be competing at Sochi.

AT&T's ads use the tag line "It's Our Time" and feature athletes who aren't as high profile.

These include skeleton racer Noelle Pikus-Pace, short-track speed skater Alyson Dudek, and alpine skier Heath Calhoun. The hashtag #ItsOurTime carries the campaign through to Twitter.

AT&T's store pages on major mall sites (like AT&T at The Mall at Fox Run) also feature Instagram photos of U.S. Olympic athletes, with the request to cheer them on via #ItsOurTime tweets.