They’re the products that have become tried-and-true fixtures of the American economy, the ones people have reached for in supermarkets for decades. They’re the name brands folks associate with cleaning, snacking and sweet treats.
In an attempt “to quantify what America thinks,” research data and analytics firm YouGov conducts numerous surveys to measure popularity among companies, brands, people and more on a weekly basis.
Scroll through as Money Talks News lays out YouGov’s latest ranking of the most popular brands in America to see which brands score the highest with U.S. consumers.
15. Bounty
The “Quicker Picker Upper” was born in 1965, when Procter & Gamble replaced Charmin Towels with Bounty, “a new 2-ply towel that was thicker, softer, and more absorbent than any other on the market.”
If you find yourself going through Bounty or another brand too quickly, however, check out “How I Make a Roll of Paper Towels Last a Year.”
14. Ritz
Nabisco introduced this rich round of salty goodness in 1934 to Great Depression-weary Americans and named it after someone associated with wealth and splendor — Cesar Ritz, who had opened opulent hotels around the world. It worked — by 1935, Nabisco had sold more than 5 billion Ritz crackers.
13. Lysol
This disinfectant has been on the disease frontlines for more than a century, from battling cholera in 1892 to fighting COVID-19 today.
In fact, a multitude of Lysol products have been designated for use against the coronavirus by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, as we detail in “5 Household Disinfectants That Can Destroy the Coronavirus.”
12. Oreo Cookies
There’s no generational gap in the love for this treat: At least 78% of baby boomers, Generation X and millennials all have a positive opinion of the brand, according to YouGov.
A stretch of New York City’s Ninth Avenue has even been designated “Oreo Way” to honor the birthplace of the cookies.
11. Kit Kat
The popularity of this chocolate bar brand is high across generations, with 81% of millennials and 80% of Gen Xers and baby boomers having a positive opinion of Kit Kat, according to YouGov. Additionally, 80% of both men and women have a positive opinion of the brand.
10. Reese’s
Many folks associate the Reese's brand only with Peanut Butter Cups, but a quick glance at its website reveals nearly 100 varieties of products, including dipped pretzels, white chocolate thins and peanut butter. It’s no wonder YouGov found that Reese’s is the fifth-most popular food and snack brand in the U.S.
9. Clorox
More than a century after its beginning, Clorox liquid bleach, like Lysol, has been enlisted on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19. The Clorox Co. website provides products and do-it-yourself ideas for stopping the coronavirus in its tracks.
If you prefer to fight COVID-19 with something less harsh or more natural than bleach, check out “5 Household Disinfectants That Can Destroy the Coronavirus.”
8. Hershey’s Kisses
Hershey’s makes 70 million Kisses every day, and it’s hard to imagine they were hand-wrapped with foil from 1907 to 1921. Another fun fact: The Hershey Co. made a mammoth Kiss weighing 30,540 pounds — the equivalent of more than 3 million regular-size Kisses — to celebrate the product’s 100th anniversary in 2007.
To learn even more, check out “The Story Behind the Hershey’s Kiss.”
7. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
Coconut caramel cups? Peppermint cream cups? Marshmallow-nut cups? Interesting concoctions, but the founder of the H.B. Reese Candy Company realized in 1942 during World War II that the Peanut Butter Cup would be his biggest seller and ditched the rest of the product line.
6. Dawn
This dish soap can clean a lot of other things — with tires, tools and microwaves among them. It can even double as a laundry product, as we detail in “7 Stains You Can Remove With Cheap Household Products.”
Dawn also is being used to help wildlife recover from oil spills. The Marine Mammal Center says the company has donated thousands of bottles of dish soap and helped more than 75,000 animals affected by oil spills.
5. Kleenex
This tissue brand is the second-most popular household and personal care brand, according to YouGov. And there seems to be Kleenex tissues for every need: The brand offers antiviral, lotion-infused and three-ply tissue products, among others, as well as wet wipes and hand towels.
4. Ziploc
Widetrack ribs, clicking zippers, convex dimples: If you ever thought Ziploc was just a simple plastic bag to hold your sandwiches, read Wired’s article about their design. The technology behind these lunchtime necessities might astound you.
3. Hershey’s
Families can learn how cocoa beans are transformed into chocolate on a tour at Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania. There’s also a 4-D movie and kids can create their own chocolate bars.
2. M&M
“M&M” stands for “Mars and Murrie” — as in Forrest Mars Sr., founder of Mars Inc., and Bruce Murrie of the Hershey chocolate family. They teamed up to create the world-famous M&M candy, an idea Mars got from seeing the hard-shelled chocolates British volunteers were munching during the Spanish Civil War.
1. Band-Aid
Band-Aids have gone overseas during World War II, to the Moon and to Cold War Eastern Europe. The product is so ubiquitous, it even has become a commonly used adjective included in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary.
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