AC/DC Named Most Trusted Aussie Music Brand
October 18, 2008, 15 years ago
News.com.au is reporting:
AC/DC has been named the most trusted Australian music brand, while former MIDNIGHT OIL frontman Peter Garrett is "a sell-out".
As AC/DC released its first album in eight years yesterday, a report by brand expert Simon Hammond found that the hard rockers still had the trust of the nation.
"Great music brands don't try too hard - they just are," Mr Hammond said. "AC/DC live the great Australian psyche of battling. They work hard and play hard."But the report found Mr Garrett, who for years sang about Aboriginal rights, land ownership and the environment before joining the Labor Party and entering Federal Parliament, was damaged goods.
"Peter Garrett himself is damaging the memory of Midnight Oil," Mr Hammond said."A lot of people think he has sold out. When you go from where he was, as an independent voice in a political environment outside of the inner sanctum, to all of a sudden join it, you have to sell out. He's had to shut up and do things the right way.
"I am sure he has got his reasons but, from a point of view of popular culture, people see him as a sell-out."
Mr Hammond said the Australian public was confused about what Mr Garrett - Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts - stands for.
"People grew up with Midnight Oil and believed in their beliefs," he said."Those beliefs were very clearly articulated. Now he talks like a politician, so he is definitely a damaged brand now."
Mr Hammond looked at hundreds of local musicians, assessing their credibility based on his brand methodology - belief, belonging and behaviour.
He said AC/DC had proved themselves to be real.
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