“The Bond” Marketing

The recently released “Quantum of Solace” has been touted as the “the next golden age of Bond movies” , with a fast paced ,realistic and a much “humane” movie . Starting from where it left, it has certainly accepted to be a far better movie compared to Casino Royale , with Daniel Craig delivering a powerful performance in the movie with his solid fist fights and chase sequences.

Yet, the movie seems to be missing on a load of factors , the usual Bond fan might expect to see.
For starters , the soundtrack of the movie ,”Another way to die”, by Alicia Keyes is a major letdown , especially for a “Bond song” .Who could ever forget the 007 song composed by Moby for all those Pierce Brosnan movies ?

The next major factor that might affect the movie is the “In-film” Product Placement.
Product Placement esp in films , TV serials and games has been on a considerable rise the past years , with more corporate tie-ups and sponsorship deals between the production houses and the corporate companies and media agencies.

A product placement is a type of marketing/advertising , where corporate companies make a deal with the producers ,to make sure their brand /product advertisement appears on the movie in an indirect way , and follows a non disclosure policy

Some of the recent examples for Product placements that I have observed include :

Lage Raho Munnabhai (Hindi)- WorldSpace Radio
Life in a Metro(Hindi) – Shaadi.com
Fashion(Hindi) – Several fashion brands including Vogue,Lakme etc.
Chandramukhi (Tamil) – Tata Indicom

Hollywood :
Cast Away – Fed Ex
Devil Wears Prada – Vogue,Cosmopolitan, Star Bucks etc.
Minorty Report – GAP, Coca Cola
The Island – Microsoft
I-Robot – Converse

A James Bond movie particularly is quite renowned for introducing a whole new range of car models from famous brands , esp from the likes of BMW , Aston Martin, Volkswagen,Ford etc
This movie has certainly ain’t been spared , with a whole new range of product placements throughout the movie . The audience were more tuned in identifying the brand names in cars,cell phones, alcohol,laptops,watches etc, rather than being absorbed in the thrilling chases and fights.

According to IMDB , the product placements and brand integrations for this movie include :

  • Aston Martin DBS,Alfa Romeo and the Ford Motor Company including vehicle makes Volvo, Range Rover, and the new Ka
  • Smirnoff Vodka, Bollinger Champagne,Heineken Pilsener Beer
  • Sony Electronics & Sony Ericsson cell phones including the Titanium Silver Edition C902 Cyber-shot Phone;
  • Virgin Atlantic Airlines
  • Omega SA Watches, James Bond wears the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M; Swatch etc..

I’m sure its a dream run for marketers and advertisers for their brands to be featured in a James Bond movie,which will be watched by millions of people across the world , but when it comes to the average moviegoer , I guess they’d prefer to watch an “original” movie rather than a “sponsored” brand movie.

So next time , in a movie ,the hero drinks a “Starbucks” coffee rather than just a coffee , you know what it is !

4 thoughts on ““The Bond” Marketing

  1. hmm…I dont know…Bond really lost that flair of Pierce Brosnan,Sean Connery,Roger Moore.Though daniel craig can be termed as another XXX(Vin Diesel!) agent taking into account the action sequences in the movie. Being a bond requires something more than that,…
    Eagerly waiting for the Next Bond.Daniel Craig – Worst James Bond after George Lazenby :D.

    huff..i am relieved now .. 😀

  2. Lage Raho Munnabhai (Hindi)- WorldSpace Radio
    Life in a Metro(Hindi) – Shaadi.com
    Fashion(Hindi) – Several fashion brands including Vogue,Lakme etc

    amazing observation/analysis
    thnx for dropping by 🙂

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