A view to a sell: will Spectre’s brands get the traditional Bond boost?

Product placement in 007 films is nothing new, but it’s not always the big deals, such as Heineken’s in Skyfall and now Belvedere vodka for Spectre, that pay the biggest dividends

 

Not even Daniel Craig’s clenched thespian gravitas can gloss over the fact that James Bond has got a licence to sell, and he will basically flog whatever he’s told to. Bond films now attract the same type of sponsorship as the World Cup or the Olympics. Skyfall had deals with Coca-Cola, Sony, Ford, Omega, Procter & Gamble and Heineken. But do these brands really get their money’s worth? You’d think so, considering the recent news that Belvedere vodka has paid an undisclosed sum to be featured in the upcoming Spectre. It has already launched limited-edition bottles with the MI6 building engraved on them, and LED lights inside them. The film isn’t out for a year and already we’re talking about Belvedere vodka, so there is your marketing impact right there. Or rather, right here.

But the real beneficiaries of the 007 touch are often the smaller brands that get a free ride in the movies. Heineken paid £28m for the Skyfall tie-in, for example, but fans were horrified at the prospect of Bond chugging beer. Even Craig described the deal as “unfortunate”, thus generating reams of negative publicity. For which Heineken then compensated with a carpet-marketing campaign – bombarding us with expensive commercials (starring Craig), mobile apps, branded bottles, advertising in stores, online, in print and so on, until nobody ever wanted to see a Heineken bottle again.

Bond obediently swigged the beer for one early scene, but after that what did he drink? Macallan whisky. So did Judi Dench and Javier Bardem. And what did Macallan pay for the privilege? Nothing at all. Macallan didn’t even ask to be in the movie – the film-makers approached them. According to one estimate, Macallan accounted for 7% of all product-placement screen time in Skyfall, which brought the company some $7m (£4.4m) worth of exposure, and doubtless cost a few Heineken execs their jobs.

It’s the same with other Bond accoutrements. Everyone knows Bond’s weapon of choice: a Walther PPK. Bond has been its screen-to-screen salesman for 50 years. Sean Connery even presented a short documentary on Walther guns in the 1960s. And yet the arms dealer pays nothing for the privilege – it was all thanks to Ian Fleming’s decision to equip Bond with the gun back in 1956. Bond is happy to advertise other weapons too, mind you. In Skyfall, he also used an Anderson Wheeler shotgun, and again the gunmakers paid nothing, but they duly capitalised with a “Skyfall Edition” 0.500 rifle. Starting price: around £16,000.

It’s amazing what Bond gets away with selling: alcohol, firearms, tobacco, oil companies, fast food. He would probably do GM crops too if they could work it into the script. But the truth is, off-duty, he is an incorrigible shopaholic. Between missions, he is scouring Mayfair arcades and designer sample sales seeking to satiate his unchecked desire for luxury items. If you are a purveyor of such goods, you are in with a good chance of some free publicity, it seems. But let’s not forget who is really footing the bill for this government employee-turned-rogue consumer. Why do you think we have a deficit problem?

clench - ściskać, ścisnąć, zaciskać, zacisnąć
thespian - aktor
gravitas - powaga, poważanie, poważne podejście
gloss over sth - prześlizgnąć się po czymś, prześlizgiwać się po czymś
flog - chłostać (biczem, batem)
sponsorship - sponsorowanie (przedsięwzięcia, wydarzenia)
considering - zważywszy, biorąc pod uwagę, wobec
undisclosed - nieujawniony
feature - cecha charakterystyczna, funkcja
upcoming - zbliżający się, nadchodzący
engraved - wyryty, wygrawerowany
beneficiary - beneficjent (osoba odnosząca z czegoś korzyść); spadkobierca
horrified  - przerażony
prospect - perspektywa, wizja
chug - dyszeć, sapać, warkotać (np. o silniku); robić wolne postępy
thus - stąd, tak więc, dlaczego
reams - stos, sterta
bombard - bombardować
obediently - posłusznie
swig - łyk, haust; pociągnąć sobie pić dużymi łykami
privilege - przywilej, uprawnienie
approach - zbliżać się, podchodzić (do czegoś)
exposure - narażenie, wystawienei (np. na słońce)
doubtless - niewątpliwie, bez wątpienie
exec - kierownik wykonawczy; ciało wykonawcze
accoutrement - oporządzenie, ekwipunek, parafernalia; ekwipunek, sprzęt, przybory, akcesoria
weapon - broń (pojedyncza sztuka broni)
the sth of sth choice - coś wybranego przez kogoś
the st of choice - coś wybranego; coś co jest stosowane w pierwszej kolejności
duly - należycie, jak się należy; jak przewidywano, zgodnie z planem
rifle - karabin
get away - odejść, wyjść, wyrwać się (np. z nudnego spotkania)
firearm - broń palna
crops - plony, zbiory
truth - prawda
off-duty - poza służbą
incorrigible - niepoprawny (np. kłamca)
scour - przeszukiwać (np. dokumenty), przetrząsać (miejsce)
arcade - arkada; pasaż handlowy
sample - próbka (towaru w sklepie)
seek - ubiegać się, dążyć
satiate - nasycać, zaspokajać
unchecked - niepowstrzymany, niekontrolowany (np. temperament)
desire - ochota, chęć, pragnienie
purveyor - dostawca, dostarczyciel
footing - oparcie; podstawa; położenie
rogue - łajdak, łobuz, szelma, szubrawiec

źródło: http://www.theguardian.com/film/shortcuts/2014/dec/16/view-to-a-sell-james-bond-product-placement-boost-profile