The next James Bond 007 spy thriller comes packed with merchandise, product placement, marketing promotions and some complaints of overdoing it on the commercialization front. But a reality is that fans of the spy-thriller movies seem to enjoy the product glitz in overdrive.
Some pundits in the UK suggest product placement and promotional tie-ins for “Quantum of Solace” are excessive to the point of “overkill,” says an article in UK newspaper The Telegraph.
The newspaper article values UK promos with third parties as worth £100 million ($160 million) for the next James Bond spy thriller, which is marketing the film in advertising paid by partners. This involves consumer goods marketers promoting a movie in their own advertising.
On the product-placement front, where brands are placed in movies themselves, the James Bond thrillers are a rare example of movies getting paid cash for such in-film exposure. UK-based newspaper The Independent says that “Quantum” is loaded with pay-for-insertion deal, after 2002’s “Die Another Day” contained so many products and brands that its critics called it “Buy Another Day. “Die Another Day” reportedly had 20 companies paying £44m for product placement or use of Bond elements in their advertising. The product placement windfall declined to six companies paying an estimated £36m in 2006’s “Casino Royale.”
The upcoming “Quantum of Solace,” which is the 22nd in the 007 spy franchise, premieres in the domestic U.S./Canada market with a PG-audience classification Nov. 14 via Sony/Columbia.
The Telegraph article by Chris Hastings suggests: “The list of firms which have signed lucrative deals to use catchphrases, music, logos and images associated with the character, as well as the film’s stars, features some of the world’s biggest businesses: Coca Cola, Ford, Heineken, Barclaycard, Sony, Sony Ericsson (cell phones), Virgin Atlantic, Camelot, the watchmaker Omega, Bollinger, Smirnoff. Orbitz, a travel company and Avon, the cosmetics firm.”
It’s an interesting debate. But book “Marketing to Moviegoers: Second Edition” says that the 007 James Bond films are a special case. Audiences expect glamorous brand associations, particularly cars, fashion, fragrances, electronic gadgets and alcoholic beverages.
For the next Bond film “Quantum”, “The Independent” says the most interesting tie-up is with Ocean Sky private jet service. Ocean Sky is seen eight times in the film “Solace.” Ocean Sky provided valuable transportation to production of the film in exchange for the plugs.
“Although the film’s producers, Eon, are tight-lipped about exactly who pays what for the Bond endorsements the list of confirmed products to feature in the new film includes Heineken, Virgin Atlantic, Coca-Cola, Smirnoff, and of course, Ford, Omega, Sony and Aston Martin,” says the article by Mark Hughes.
The Coca-Cola cross promotion in its beverage advertising is particularly conspicuous. It’s Coke’s first big film promotion hookup since the first “Harry Potter” movie in 2001.
Film star Daniel Craig won’t be pictured swilling Coke in the film, but his silhouette will be shown in Coke ads and on bottles/cans. The product is seen in the background of “Quantum.”
In 20 countries, the Coke Zero brand will be packaged as “Zero Zero 7” with a redesigned bottle in a limited edition and advertising will call attention to “Quantum.” This will be a consumer collectible. The bottle’s design draws from the iconic 007 opening with the eye-ball iris from which swirls emanate.
News of the Coke tie-in broke in UK media, which poked some fun saying that James Bond is turning in his signature martini for a soft drink.
While tie-in partners tend to be glamorous, “Quantum” gets plugged by Ford’s mini urban car the Ka. A Ford says lead actress Olga Kurylenko, who the feisty character Camille, drives the little vehicle. Ford also has its Aston Martin, Range Rover and Volvo vehicles in the film
Says a press release from the automaker: “The special ‘Quantum of Solace’ Ka was created by Ford of Europe’s Design team, in collaboration with the movie’s Oscar award-winning production designer, Dennis Gassner. The Ka’s cameo continues Ford of Europe’s relationship with the James Bond films, following the debut appearance of the latest Ford Mondeo, in the 2006 blockbuster, ‘Casino Royale.’”
A Reuters story headlined “Licensed to Economize” captures the contrast to the usual association with glitzy, fast cars. In the past, the lead Bond character raced around in Aston Martin, BMW and high-performance Mustang automobiles.
On the licensed merchandise front, newspaper USA Today adds Avon for a new Bond Girl 007 Fragrance that retails for $30. Avon hired British actress Gemma Arterton, who plays Agent Fields in “Quantum,” to appear in advertising in North America, Europe and Latin America.
The USA Today article by Theresa Howard adds that “PopCo will have Bond collectible die-cast cars, action figures and toys, such as the Crypto Decoder, with a suggested retail price of $19.99, and GPS Hideout Tracker, sold at mainstream outlets including Toys R Us.”
Also interesting is that Swatch is selling the “007 Villain Collection,” which are 22 wrist watches based on the main villain in each movie of the franchise.
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