Microsoft was the biggest loser in corporate brand power last year, and L'Oreal was the biggest gainer, according to the annual CoreBrand Corporate Rankings Index. The index annually measures business leaders' perceptions of 1,200 companies by surveying 400 senior (VP and above) business executives across 49 industries. CoreBrand's "Brand Power" scores are computed based on weighted, average rankings of both familiarity and favorability toward each company. Favorability includes perceptions of overall reputation, management and investment potential. Microsoft's ranking among the Top 100 dropped by 21 places last year, from 38th to 59th--and it has lost 48 places since 2004, when it was ranked 11th. "This drop is stunning," says James Gregory, CEO of CoreBrand, which specializes in corporate branding strategy. "In recent years, Microsoft's image has deteriorated from that of a young, hip organization to an old, stuffy organization. Their product releases have slowed, and the Apple Mac advertising making fun of PCs has also taken a toll." He adds that it will be interesting to watch whether Microsoft's series of new product launches will affect the brand positively. Meanwhile, L'Oreal had the greatest gain in rankings last year--moving up 18 places, from 86 to 68. The brand has gained 46 places since 2004, when it ranked 114. Gregory attributes L'Oreal's gains--as well as those for Revlon and Estee Lauder--to focused investments in brand building in recent years. Revlon has gained 21 places since '04, including 12 last year--putting it in 39th place--while Estee Lauder has jumped 18 places, including 14 last year, putting it in 40th place. Looking at the Top 10, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson retained their No. 1 and No. 2 positions, but Hershey Foods replaced PepsiCo in the No. 3 spot. In fact, PepsiCo dropped eight places, to rank 11th last year, and it has dropped six places since '04. Harley-Davidson rose from sixth to fourth place, replacing UPS, which dropped to seventh. Hallmark Cards remained in the No. 5 position, Campbell Soup jumped from 10th to sixth, and Colgate-Palmolive rose from 12th to ninth. However, FedEx dipped from seventh to eighth. Starbucks may have lost some its luster among consumers of late, but the corporate set still perceives it as gaining brand power, albeit more slowly. Starbucks rose three places last year to 10th place, and has risen by 12 places since '04. Other notable winners and losers in 2007: