I don't know what's more surprising: the fact that Ritz crackers topped a list of America's favorite snack brands for the second year in a row or that Oreos didn't make the cut.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Ritz crackers. As a child in the 1970s and 1980s, I loved "grown-up" parties because they usually featured an assortment of cheeses accompanied by the buttery flavored crackers. They tasted fine, but they weren't anything that I would go out of my way to find, especially if a Triscuit was available. Certainly, they weren't Oreos. 

A spokeswoman explained to me that the YouGov BrandIndex's top 10 list of best perceived snack brands measured only "salty snacks" and didn't include cakes and cookies.

Too bad, because in my mind, there is no better "snack" than an Oreo.

Most kids I knew would have crawled on their bellies over piles of broken glass for one of the sandwich cookies, which are celebrating their centennial this year. Of course, maybe America's obesity rates wouldn't be so high if people ate fewer Oreos and more Ritz crackers, but that's a debate for another day. A spokesperson for Kraft Foods (KFT), which makes Ritz, Oreos and Wheat Thins, couldn't be reached.

YouGov BrandIndex's list has many familiar names, including Lay's and Orville Redenbacher, whom older consumers may remember as a plain-spoken, bow-tie-wearing star of his television commercials. The brand is now owned by ConAgra (CAG). Doritos, Fritos, Tostitos and Cheetos, all made by PepsiCo's (PEP) Frito-Lay business, also made the list.

The YouGov BrandIndex Impression score is compiled by a survey of 5,000 people conducted each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample. Participants, adults 18 years and older, are asked, "Do you have a general positive feeling about the brand?" Scores are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive, and range from 100 to minus 100.

The list is below.


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