With "Casino Royale" kicking off its continuing saga of the British secret agent, you see a number of things that have been part of the franchise, even though the actor playing Bond changes.
The Ford Motor Co. (F) which started their partnership with Bond "Goldfinger" in 1964, continues their relationship with the franchise; they have been all 17 other Bond films since their debut. They feature the new Aston Martin DBS for Bonds use in 
"Casino Royale." He also captains the 2007 Ford Mondeo, the first vehicle he drives in the movie.
Another sponsor that's been around for a long time has been Smirnoff Vodka which was introduced in "Dr. No" as Bond's choice of spirits.
Others having placement in the film are Sony Electronics (SNE), Sony Ericsson and Omega watches. The total take for the product placement is $100 million. It included some support services like Ford transporting vehicles the Bahamas, the Czech Republic, Italy and England.
While this is nothing new, I'm surprised, with declining box office numbers, that there isn't a much more aggressive foray into this strategy and an embracing of the concept by movie producers. It's pretty good business to start a movie off with $100 million in your pocket.
Yes, but too much product placement and it becomes too glaringly obvious. It should be about subtlty, not stamping every scene with some company's logo.
However I do see an interesting not-too-distant future where an establishing shot of Times Square is filled with advertising that's been digitally inserted for everyone that has paid to be in the movie, and removed for anyone that hasn't.
Posted by: The Judge | November 22, 2006 6:55 PM | Permalink to Comment