I have been thinking about this the last couple questions, so I just want to have a for fun discussion about it.
Who do you guys think is the most recognizable name in the world, at present? Only living people are eligible.
Here are my 2 cents:
Barack Obama - leader of the "free world".. self explanatory
Vladmir Putin - He's been the leader of russia for a while now.. probably near same level of recognizability as obama
Queen Elizabeth II - I don't really have much basis for this but i suspect she is super recognizable. I think lots of people around the world know of the queen of england... maybe not by name but like they know who she is. plus she is old as shit
Bono - He has been around for a long time, is still relevant, has a strong presence around the world, and I think musicians have an edge in this because they spread by radio.
Beyonce - I don't really know about her worldwide presence but she is the biggest music star in the U.S.. so I have to assume in the world at the moment as well.
Ronaldo - There are a few athletes I could pick, but I think some of them may have lost relevancy with younger generations. I don't know much about football, but I know it's the most popular sport around the world by far. And I (think?) ronaldo is maybe the most popular player?
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Self explanatory. Some of his action movies are huge worldwide. He was mr perfect or mr olympia or whatever that was. He is insanely recognizable.
Jackie Chan - Famous in the U.S. and China - so I figure he's famous everywhere else too?
So my actual pick for #1 is Obama. But I'd like to believe it's actually someone else. What do you guys think? I imagine there are famous people in other countries that I don't know about because I am a dumb american.
A few years ago I came across a report or something which concluded that George Bush and Paris Hilton were the most famous/recognizable people in the world (at the time). I can't seem to find it now though :/
One of the biggest if not the biggest regular events that exist on earth is the US presidential election so it seems pretty safe to bet on the current president as the most recognized person alive. I can't imagine any place where they don't cover this election. The US having a hand in many big things that happen on this planet makes the president even more famous.
Anyway I'd put my eggs in the Obama basket as well.
I believe Michael Jordan is considered one of the most popular and most recognized athletes worldwide but it might not be on the same level as some of the football/soccer stars
I considered Michael Jordan, I think at a time he would have definitely been up there... but it's been a while since he was actually playing, so I think his fame has faded some. I think Muhammad Ali is more famous worldwide anyways, or even Pacquiao. I don't even know who Maradona is haha
Michael Jackson is dead, coag
And no I am not joking with Bono, why would that be a joke. U2 has been big for a long time, and Bono is very famous for many reasons.
I think it's Obama probly. I feel that everyone who listens to music or watches sports, is exposed to enough media to know Obama, but it doesn't work the other way around.
On October 18 2014 11:32 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: Currently, it's probably Barack Obama. Especially off your list, Obama by far.
Also, Michael Jackson is dead.
I think Bush is more famous. 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq were all HUGE news. Obama had big news when he was elected first because he is black but since then there were not such memorable events as Bush had during his time.
Sports: Messi or Ronaldo Art: Madonna or Jackie Chan
My list: 1. Barack Obama 2. George W. Bush (still) 3. IdrA
Notable deceased: 1. Osama bin Laden 2. Mohandas Gandhi 3. George Washington 4. Abraham Lincoln 5. Elvis Presley 6. Michael Jackson 7. Adolf Hitler 8. Jesus Christ
It's obvious that no musician or sports player will make this list if the person isn't recognized by people who are completely oblivious to their usual habitat. No Bono, no Ronaldo, no Jackie Chan. Obama/Bush are recognized by people worldwide, regardless of them being interested in politics or not. If it weren't for western ignorance of chinese politics, I would wager Xi Jinping would be on the top of the list (then again, he's only been in office for a year or so, so perhaps Wen Jiabao or Hu Jintao are more recognized).
Among deceased people, Hitler obviously is on the top of the list, joining the ranks of people like Napoleon and Djingis Khan.
Of course, most famous dead (or not... ) people on earth are Jesus and Mohammed.
I've often wondered what image/symbol would be the most recognized if you asked every person on Earth.
I bet it's something sad like the logos of McDonald's, Coke, or Apple. Presumably the Cross, Swastika, yin yang, American flag and others are up there.
On October 18 2014 12:28 DannyJ wrote: Would have to be Obama right now.
I've often wondered what image/symbol would be the most recognized if you asked every person on Earth.
I bet it's something sad like the logos of McDonald's, Coke, or Apple. Presumably the Cross, Swastika, yin yang, American flag and others are up there.
Yeah I agree with you that religious symbols and international billionaire company logos would certainly be the most recognizable. Perhaps a flag or two that looks quite different than most others, like the American flag?
On October 18 2014 12:28 DannyJ wrote: Would have to be Obama right now.
I've often wondered what image/symbol would be the most recognized if you asked every person on Earth.
I bet it's something sad like the logos of McDonald's, Coke, or Apple. Presumably the Cross, Swastika, yin yang, American flag and others are up there.
Famous in US does not equal world famous guys... I agree that a lot american celebs are internationally well known but you are talking about quite a small group. I wouldnt say that beyonce is huge in my country right now, more like an 'ow yeah ive heard of her' celeb. Actually considering that Jackie Chan is famous in US, Europe, AND China I actually think he might be a very strong possibility..
it would have be Michael Jackson, but he's dead now and another has yet to fill the massive void he left in the world eye. Pop stars get a stupid amount of attention and no publicity is bad...I'd bet bieber is pretty well known either way.
Worldwide, soccer players are definitely bigger than any athlete from the USA, who coincidentally couldn't give two shits about soccer, for the most part. Yet most people who claim to know "sports" have heard of Pele or Beckham, even if they don't necessarily know who they are or what they look like. Ironically lance armstrong is fading pretty fast after the fire of his scandal died down.
The pope and the queen of england may be important to a lot of people, but honestly only cultures that overlap with with the respective denominations are going to know them across generations. As far as world leaders go, currently living anyway, the queen, obama and bush (still) are extremely prominent in foreign minds too. The queen is the monarch of history's largest (since declined) empire, dubya was one of the most recognizable presidents in recent memory for many because of his wars and being viewed as such a hated, incompetent leader by many, and obama is simply the current head of state of the USA, which has always been pretty high profile since WW2 and the nukes.
Putin is probably more well known outside of the USA's direct sphere of influence. Whether that's simply because he's the current head of state of one the world's other superpowers or because he's, well, Putin I could not say. But I can say this: I don't even know who the head of China is, despite how intertwined we are with them.
I would say Hu Jintao. President of China 2003-2013. 7.1 billion people live in the world, 4.3 billion in Asia and I'd say its very likely almost all of them know who he is.
If you add up Europe and North America you get a total of 1.1 billion(or about the population of Africa), that is less than the population of China alone. If its not the former chairman of the Communist Party of China its probably some famous Chinese dude whom we have never heard of.
Bush is more recognized than Obama worldwide even by people who doesn't follow worldnews at all (think rural areas where you can starve to death and have no access to electricity). Putin and Queen Elizabeth II would both be equally as recognizable.
Chinese head of states aren't well-known by their names to other countries in Asia outside of China. A random person in South-East Asia probably wouldn't be able to name anyone else besides Mao (who's dead so not eligible for this thread).
Beckham is known to people who have zero interests in any sports whatsoever, so he tops the sports category for me.
Also, does japanese cartoon characters count as recognizable faces? If so, Doraemon and Hello Kitty would rule them all. (Hello Kitty is more recognized in the western hemisphere, Doraemon is the king of all comic book characters in the eastern hemisphere).
On October 18 2014 17:09 HereBeDragons wrote: Bush is more recognized than Obama worldwide even by people who doesn't follow worldnews at all (think rural areas where you can starve to death and have no access to electricity). Putin and Queen Elizabeth II would both be equally as recognizable.
Chinese head of states aren't well-known by their names to other countries in Asia outside of China. A random person in South-East Asia probably wouldn't be able to name anyone else besides Mao (who's dead so not eligible for this thread).
Beckham is known to people who have zero interests in any sports whatsoever, so he tops the sports category for me.
Also, does japanese cartoon characters count as recognizable faces? If so, Doraemon and Hello Kitty would rule them all. (Hello Kitty is more recognized in the western hemisphere, Doraemon is the king of all comic book characters in the eastern hemisphere).
If we're including those, then Nintendo's Pikachu and Mario pretty much win at everything. Pac Man too.
I think the pope would probably be pretty far down on the list. I don't think many people in Asia would really know who he is and even in the Western world there are a lot of people who wouldn't know or care.
On October 18 2014 16:06 Prowler wrote: I would say Hu Jintao. President of China 2003-2013. 7.1 billion people live in the world, 4.3 billion in Asia and I'd say its very likely almost all of them know who he is.
Obama's universally known in the West and literally every 10+ year old Korean student I've had knows who he is. I doubt almost all asians knew the president of china, a lot from India and South East Asia probably don't give a shit.
Beyonce for music Messi/Beckham/Ronaldo/Usain/Kobe for sport Pitt/Cruise/Depp for film
On October 18 2014 12:28 DannyJ wrote: Would have to be Obama right now.
I've often wondered what image/symbol would be the most recognized if you asked every person on Earth.
I bet it's something sad like the logos of McDonald's, Coke, or Apple. Presumably the Cross, Swastika, yin yang, American flag and others are up there.
I definitely think that would be coca cola. It's everywhere!
On October 18 2014 12:28 DannyJ wrote: Would have to be Obama right now.
I've often wondered what image/symbol would be the most recognized if you asked every person on Earth.
I bet it's something sad like the logos of McDonald's, Coke, or Apple. Presumably the Cross, Swastika, yin yang, American flag and others are up there.
I definitely think that would be coca cola. It's everywhere!
It's sold in all but two countries, so I would assume that the spread is the most out of any company.
On October 18 2014 17:36 DannyJ wrote: I think the pope would probably be pretty far down on the list. I don't think many people in Asia would really know who he is and even in the Western world there are a lot of people who wouldn't know or care.
outside of asia, basically everyone knows the pope. even in muslim countries he should be kind of known. in asia, there's the philippines who are mostly catholic, so there are some additional millions. India / China could be tough, though.
The current pope might not be that well known, but John Paul II. was famous as hell, because he travelled EVERYWHERE and was pope for quite some time. (almost 30 years)
On October 18 2014 17:36 DannyJ wrote: I think the pope would probably be pretty far down on the list. I don't think many people in Asia would really know who he is and even in the Western world there are a lot of people who wouldn't know or care.
outside of asia, basically everyone knows the pope. even in muslim countries he should be kind of known. in asia, there's the philippines who are mostly catholic, so there are some additional millions. India / China could be tough, though.
The current pope might not be that well known, but John Paul II. was famous as hell, because he travelled EVERYWHERE and was pope for quite some time. (almost 30 years)
I think if the Pope was in his attire (robes, hat, etc.), then people would recognize that the person is "The Pope". On the other hand, I think a lot of people would have issue with figuring out *which Pope he is*. I think the title and role is easily recognizable worldwide, but I also think that a lot of people aren't aware of who the current Pope is at any given time.
Kim K is pretty recognized world wide. I was surprised, but a lot of people recognize her partially for her lifestyle and partially because she's an attractive girl who is in the tabloid headlines. But yeah, Kim K is pretty internationally recognized.
You guys are all terrible at evaluating who's actually relevant and famous globally.
India and China alone make up more than 1/3 of the world population, so you need someone that's known across Asia. Not a single one of these western actors/musicians/etc. would even break the top 10. Africa adds another billion and change.
It's like when people talk about who's gonna win the next League/DotA tournament and everyone gets their panties wet for C9 and EG and other irrelevant people and then some faceless Asians whom you've never heard of come and take all the money.
On October 19 2014 01:19 domane wrote: I would add Oprah and Pope Francis (even though Francis is not his real name) to the list.
More celebrities should be included but I'm not sure which ones stick out from the rest.
Oprah is just a NA thing. I know she has/d a talkshow in the US and is a stronk independent black women. but I doubt the generation 50+ will know her. Pope(s) in general are not that recognised in East Asia. And Francis has just been in office for some years. maybe john paul II was more well known.
I'd also argue for either the US president or some soccer player. everything else just doesn't seem "global" enough. Artists are a tricky thing. They might be up there but i can't think of anyone of the appeal of "the king of pop". Maybe Madonna.
edit: maybe this is relevant for musicians. Actors are far harder to tell. edit2: authors are also hard. JK Rowling is a contender, maybe Steven King, but I doubt they are as famous, because every culture has their own writers. I thought about actors and maybe Harrison Ford? he's been in star wars and indiana jones and he's still making movies.
On October 18 2014 16:06 Prowler wrote: I would say Hu Jintao. President of China 2003-2013. 7.1 billion people live in the world, 4.3 billion in Asia and I'd say its very likely almost all of them know who he is.
Obama's universally known in the West and literally every 10+ year old Korean student I've had knows who he is. I doubt almost all asians knew the president of china, a lot from India and South East Asia probably don't give a shit.
Beyonce for music Messi/Beckham/Ronaldo/Usain/Kobe for sport Pitt/Cruise/Depp for film
The West has less people than the single country that is China. As stated earlier China and India makes up for 1/3 of the worlds population, what is important is to include them.
Who the hell knows who Depp is in India? "According to the 2005 India Human Development Survey, the surveyed households reported that 72 per cent of men did not speak any English, 28 per cent spoke some English, and five per cent spoke fluent English." So about 5% of all Indians can actually understand Depp in his movies, and how many of them has even seen one of them?
And of course the president of the United States is well known in your country, if it wasn't for the USA your country wouldn't exist! (I am tempted to include South Korea as part of the West) China is probably the biggest threat that South East Asia has(they have been very aggressive about what they perceive as their territories recently). India has Pakistan but second to that its probably China. The President of China is very relevant to them. The president of the United States is too but its easier to recognize your enemies(threats) than your allies.
For example, there is a lot more talk about Putin than Obama in Europe right now, my guess is that Putin is more well known than Obama in Europe. Sure EVERYONE in western Europe knows who Obama is, but everyone also know who Putin is. But what about the uneducated in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania or Ukraine.
On October 19 2014 02:49 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: You guys are all terrible at evaluating who's actually relevant and famous globally.
India and China alone make up more than 1/3 of the world population, so you need someone that's known across Asia. Not a single one of these western actors/musicians/etc. would even break the top 10. Africa adds another billion and change.
It's like when people talk about who's gonna win the next League/DotA tournament and everyone gets their panties wet for C9 and EG and other irrelevant people and then some faceless Asians whom you've never heard of come and take all the money.
Ok.. so basically what you have done is come in and say "you guys have the wrong answers" but then contributed nothing to solving the actual question
And no, your comparison is wrong actually. The fact is, the west has a bigger worldwide presence than the east in most facets. It's catching up.. sure... but it's not there yet. Compare the amount of money western productions make worldwide to how many eastern ones do, despite asia being way more densely populated. It's not even close.
On October 19 2014 02:49 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: You guys are all terrible at evaluating who's actually relevant and famous globally.
India and China alone make up more than 1/3 of the world population, so you need someone that's known across Asia. Not a single one of these western actors/musicians/etc. would even break the top 10. Africa adds another billion and change.
It's like when people talk about who's gonna win the next League/DotA tournament and everyone gets their panties wet for C9 and EG and other irrelevant people and then some faceless Asians whom you've never heard of come and take all the money.
Ok.. so basically what you have done is come in and say "you guys have the wrong answers" but then contributed nothing to solving the actual question
And no, your comparison is wrong actually. The fact is, the west has a bigger worldwide presence than the east in most facets. It's catching up.. sure... but it's not there yet. Compare the amount of money western productions make worldwide to how many eastern ones do, despite asia being way more densely populated. It's not even close.
Pretty sure Obama would win. As a guess, 95%+ of all people with access to news of some sort would know Obama is president of USA. Heck the informal name for Lucian in Chinese is Obama.
The better question is who the second most well recognizable person in the world is.
On October 19 2014 02:49 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: You guys are all terrible at evaluating who's actually relevant and famous globally.
India and China alone make up more than 1/3 of the world population, so you need someone that's known across Asia. Not a single one of these western actors/musicians/etc. would even break the top 10. Africa adds another billion and change.
It's like when people talk about who's gonna win the next League/DotA tournament and everyone gets their panties wet for C9 and EG and other irrelevant people and then some faceless Asians whom you've never heard of come and take all the money.
So... who's your pick?
EDIT: Also, what you wrote is nothing new to this thread. We're already trying to consider who would be well known in Asia, as shown by the fact that most of the picks aren't "western actors/musicians/etc". And your critique has already been discussed and acknowledged
Surely the answer isn't "some faceless Asian" though. If the person is Asian, then he's going to be a famous Asian.
On October 18 2014 16:06 Prowler wrote: I would say Hu Jintao. President of China 2003-2013. 7.1 billion people live in the world, 4.3 billion in Asia and I'd say its very likely almost all of them know who he is.
Obama's universally known in the West and literally every 10+ year old Korean student I've had knows who he is. I doubt almost all asians knew the president of china, a lot from India and South East Asia probably don't give a shit.
Beyonce for music Messi/Beckham/Ronaldo/Usain/Kobe for sport Pitt/Cruise/Depp for film
Who the hell knows who Depp is in India? "According to the 2005 India Human Development Survey, the surveyed households reported that 72 per cent of men did not speak any English, 28 per cent spoke some English, and five per cent spoke fluent English." So about 5% of all Indians can actually understand Depp in his movies, and how many of them has even seen one of them?
You do realise China and India subtitles major western movies? The top two grossing films in China aren't even domestic (Transformers AoE and Avatar). That's not even including the rampant piracy in DVD's and viewing rooms throughout Asia. Guys like Hugh Jackman/Downey JR would be pretty recognizable.
As for saying how relevant the Chinese president is. I think you underestimate the coverage the US and its president, gets for being involved in conflict whilst China's been relatively quiet. Drone strikes in Pakistan. ISIS. Israel-Palestine. Iraq. Afghanistan. Sure the Chinese leader is geopolitically relevant to his neighbours but America's soft and active hard power makes the president very visible for anywhere that has TV/news.
Yeah Obama is up there. If Obama were actually #1, then I'd go with GW Bush for #2. U.S. Presidents are always good choices. Especially those that were alive during high profile events. Clinton might be up there too. Putin's nice too.
Maybe some prominent men in business like Bill Gates. Warren Buffet probably isn't known by those below 18's given there is no actual product attached to his name. Steve Jobs would've been good if he were still alive.
For pop culture, maybe Eminem. He's the only white rapper that's been quasi active for over a decade or so through the rise of the rap hip/hop transition in the industry. As one of the beginners in the industry, he's likely had strong exposure across the world as well. A lot of others kind of fizzle out so they're not very cross-generational/geographical. But he's tier 2. MJackson would've been a great choice if he were still alive. MJackson would be up there with the first tier of US presidents imo.
Film stars? Maybe Jackie Chan. Maybe Brad Pitt. Maybe Clooney. But only tier 2 or 3.
For sports. MJ or some famous soccer dude. Tier 2ish.
But in the end, I'd go with Obama, Bush, Clinton, and Putin. Obama is the first black president. Bush is a moron. Clinton got his dick sucked by an intern. And Putin is Putin. Most people seem to at least know these things (a conclusion based on absolutely nothing).
First I want to get it out of the way that I think Obama is #1.
Now: I know football is the 'world's sport' but Basketball is ridiculously popular in China(and much of Europe), and LeBron is the face of basketball(Kobe is apparently also mega wtf huge gigantic in China), as well as the advertising face of mega-corporations like McDonalds and Coke and Nike. I am not ignorant to how incredible the reach of athletes like Messi and Ronaldo is, but I truly think LeBron would be the 'most recognizable' in the side discussion of athletes only. At the very least it's not the landslide victory that some perhaps think it is for the football stars.
im suprised no1 mentioned it, but that dude psy who made gangnam style is know throughout a lot of western countries as well as china, japan, russia and various other nations. i think everybody in south korea knows who he is except for the babies and old ppl XD
Messi is a very strong contender, considering he's probably very well-known in Asia, Europe, Americas (well, less so in USA and Canada I guess, but the central/south america yea) and I'd say even some Africa. Also considering kids would know him as well as adults, unlike some politicians.
US presidents yea. Putin probably. Some actor/actress probably more so than a singer. Some important Asian, since then Asians would know him/her by default, and the rest of the world probably as well.
I'd say Stephen Hawking, but I don't think he'd come close.
EPT
) people on earth are Jesus and Mohammed.
