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At least there is one thing we can all agree on, whether we are politically red, blue or purple.

Americans don’t see eye-to-eye on politics, so why should it be any different when it comes to the brands we admire?

Democrats and Republicans, as it turns out, see the world very differently in terms of brand perception, and the outlook is different still for independents.

Democrats seem to love Google, for example, while the Internet search company fails to even break the top 10 list of Republicans' favorite brands, according to an annual ranking released Wednesday by YouGov Brand Index, a consumer research firm. 

Republicans and independents both have a high opinion of the History Channel and Discovery Channel -- brands that are just not top of mind for Democrats.

“Politics in the U.S. have become very personality-focused and we view brands as having a personality,” said June Cotte, associate professor of marketing at Western University in Canada said.

“If a brand is seen as young and hip it may be more associated with (President Barack) Obama, who is seen as young and hip compared to (former Gov. Mitt) Romney,” Cotte said.

News events also can have an impact.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy, for example, stirred up both criticism and support with his controversial comments against same-sex marriage. But those comments drove Chick-fil-A onto the top 10 list of well-perceived brands among Republicans for the first time. (The fast-food chain did not make the list among Democrats or independents.)

Some brands also got a bounce after the two political conventions this year.

The Democrats used the slogan “Osama Bin Laden is dead, General Motors is alive” during their convention, leading to a big bounce in perception for GM among Dems. Staples founder Thomas Stemberg stumped for Mitt Romney at the Republican’s convention, which helped garner the office supply chain a boost in ratings among Republicans.

As for M&M’s, perhaps they started packing more blue candies than red into their iconic mix of candy-coated chocolates. The popular candies made their debut on the top 10 list for both Democrats and independents this year, while melting off the Republicans’ top 10.

One brand that everyone seems to agree on is Cheerio's, which ranks in the top 10 for every political affiliation.

Ted Marzilli, managing director for YouGov’s BrandIndex, said several brands, including Fox News, PBS and Chick-fil-A, have a particularly polarizing effect.

While Fox News ranks as the No. 1 brand among Republicans, it ranks behind 1,084 other brands among Democrats.

Similarly Chick-fil-A ranked No. 4 among Republicans and No. 1,076 among Democrats.

And Romney seems to have chosen wisely in targeting PBS, which is ranked as the No. 9 brand among Democrats. Big Bird and friends rank as the No. 159 brand among Republicans. 

Here is the top 10 list for all three categories of voters:

Democrats:

1. Google
2. Amazon.com
3. Cheerios
4. Clorox
5. Craftsman
6. Dawn
7. M&Ms
8. Levi’s
9. PBS
10. Sony

Republicans:

1. Fox News Channel
2. History Channel
3. Craftsman
4. Chick-Fil-A
5. Johnson & Johnson
6. Lowe’s
7. Cheerios
8. Clorox
9. Fox
10. Discovery Channel

Independents:

1. Amazon.com
2. Craftsman
3. History Channel
4. Discovery Channel
5. Google
6. Clorox
7. Lowe’s
8. Johnson & Johnson
9. Cheerios
10. M&Ms

Dana Macario is a Seattle-area writer, who likes Cheerios, especially the Honey Nut ones.

Laura Rauch / EPA

Ford's charismatic CEO Alan Mulally probably has something to do with the company's improved brand perception.

The Big Three U.S. automakers just completed a big comeback year, and that extends to a vastly improved perception among potential customers.

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler brands accounted for six of the nation’s 10 biggest brand “buzz improvers” for 2010, according to the YouGov BrandIndex. Meanwhile, Japan's Toyota and oil giant BP were the biggest losers of the year in brand perception, according to the index.

Ford not only showed a huge improvement but also ranked No. 3 among more than 1,100 brands tracked by YouGov, a global market research firm. Ford got huge positive media attention in 2010 not only for its strong sales and well-received products but also for its ability to avoid a costly government bailout. Both GM and Chrysler were forced to file for bankruptcy protection in 2009 and were able to emerge only with taxpayer assistance.

The Big Three U.S.-based automakers are hoping to build on the buzz at the upcoming Detroit auto show, which opens for press previews Monday.

Toyota is trying to rebuild its reputation after problems that include a huge recall tied to sudden acceleration problems. BP's reputation was darkened by a massive oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people and led to the nation's biggest oil spill.

Insurance giant AIG showed the biggest buzz improvement for the year, although only because it had such a low negative perception at the end of 2009 after its disastrous collapse and taxpayer bailout.  Similarly banking giants Merrill Lynch, Citibank and Wachovia showed major perception improvements but were still considered to have negative buzz at the end of the year.

The strongest brands for 2010, according to the BrandIndex:

1. Subway
2. History Channel
3. Ford
4. Lowe's
5. Google

In 2009, Google topped the list and Ford was not even among the top 50.

The annual ranking is created by averaging daily scores of more than 1,100 brands tracked by the company, which polls 5,000 Americans daily out of a panel of 1.5 million individuals. Brands are tracked on a scale of 100 to minus 100, depending on whether they get mostly positive or negative feedback.

Want to know where Outback Steakhouse and Disneyland rank? You can find the top 50 and more at the YouGov website.