Young males in the GCC rank Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as the “coolest celebrity,” according to a survey.

The UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai ranked first among males and fourth overall in the survey published in Communicate magazine.

The survey asked young people living in the Gulf and hailing from across the Arab world to name the “coolest” and “least cool” celebrities.

The survey, commissioned by Communicate and carried out in August by Out of Bounds, a Dubai-based youth marketing agency, asked 500 GCC residents, spread evenly between the ages of 15 and 24, to name their coolest, second coolest, least cool, and second least cool celebrities. The overall “coolest” ranking placed three American actors at the top: Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and George Clooney.

“It was interesting to see Sheikh Mohammed taking a top spot alongside such well-known global celebrities,” says Communicate editor Scott MacMillan. “This is especially notable because a majority of the respondents did not even live in Dubai, and only 10 percent of them were UAE nationals.”

Of the respondents, 20 percent were Saudi; 10 percent each were Egyptian, Emirati, Indian, Jordanian, Kuwaiti and Lebanese; and 5 percent each were American, European, Qatari and Syrian. All respondents were GCC residents and 227 lived in the UAE.

Participants were not prompted for answers and could choose any person they wished. “Seconds” received 80 percent weighting relative to coolest and least cool.

Of the 20 celebrities deemed “coolest,” nine were Arabs. Of the 20 “least cool,” all were Westerners. Britney Spears topped the “uncool” list, with more than twice as many respondents choosing the American pop star as the least cool or second least cool celebrity than the runner-up, British singer Victoria Beckham.

The complete results appear in the September issue of Communicate, the Middle East’s leading trade magazine covering the regional advertising, media and marketing industries. –TradeArabia News Service