Talk:Cool Britannia

[Untitled]
Ben&Jerry's claim that they invented the term, which, only weeks later was hijacked by politicians and the media. See: http://www.benjerry.com/our_products/flavor_graveyard/raise_flavor_countdown_CoolBritannia.cfm

"If Britain were an ice cream, what flavor would it be? Cream Victoria? Queen Yum Mum? Choc Ness Monster? How about Minty Python? Those names were floated in a contest we ran in Britain in 1996 to create the quintessential British ice cream flavor. The 7,500 entries offered a glimpse inside Britain’s collective mind.

Though there were “Grape Expectations” for “Rolling Scones,” Cool Britannia, a play on the popular British military anthem “Rule Britannia” was the crown jewel of the contest. Oddly enough, the winning name was submitted by an American, who also concocted the recipe: a royal medley of vanilla ice cream, English strawberries and chocolate-covered Scottish shortbread.

Britannia Rules the Flaves! The highlight of 1996 for our UK team was the launch of their very own flavor, “Cool Britannia.” After much publicity, brought about by a private scooping for the press in the “Britannia Pub” and, of course, a spectacular launch on the 4th of July with Ben and Jerry at the Royal Albert Hall, the new flavour soared to the top of ice cream charts across the country.

The end of Cool Britannia But within weeks after the launch, its name had been appropriated by media around the world - using it as a catchphrase to sum up what they saw as the ascendancy of British culture. It even entered the political arena, becoming associated with initiatives such as Panel 2000, the Government committee charged with finding 2000 products for the Millennium - despite the fact that the Prime Minister and his closest advisors resisted using the phrase explicitly.

Unfortunately, Cool Britannia was hijacked by politicians and cultural pundits and got caught up in a debate we weren’t comfortable with. All we wanted was another fun name for an ice cream, not a convoluted cultural observation. So the ice cream which gave its name to a perceived British cultural renaissance was withdrawn in 1998."


 * Well I know of at least one American Bonzo Dog Band fan. Looks like Ben and Jerry found another one. --bodnotbod 10:45, 5 November 2005 (UTC)

"It" quality?
The phrase was quickly adopted in the media and in advertising, seeming to capture the "It" quality of London at the time.

What exactly was this supposed '"It" quality of London at the time'?

I was under the impression that "Cool Britannia" simply rode upon the coat-tails of the Britpop scene, which largely consisted of bands and artists from the north of England. London didn't seem to have much to do with it. 217.155.20.163 22:38, 11 August 2007 (UTC)