The Bond series is back, and so is its clunky product placement. While filmgoers might gripe about the series flogging (mostly) high-end wares throughout Spectre - what else would you expect from a film staring 007?
It has been one of the most heavily branded franchises in the history of cinema.
By the end of the Pierce Brosnan-era there were 21 brands promoted in his swan song, 2002's Die Another Day.
This number has been culled in the reboot - seven brands are directly promoted in the latest outing.
Bloomberg, YouTube
The official 007 website currently lists 12 brands who are partners of the series: Sony, Heineken, Bollinger, Mac Cosmetics, Tom Ford, Aston Martin, Gillette, Jaguar, Omega, Landrover, Belvedere Vodka, and Globe Trotter.
UK tourism board, Visit Britain is also listed as a partner.
For the most part these are luxury brands, whose advertisements normally appear in high-end fashion and lifestyle magazines. They are buying into the heritage of the series and the 'international man of mystery' at the centre of it.
The less-exclusive brands who hitch their wares to the film can be more jarring, such as the use of Heineken in a series of key-scenes in Casino Royal, the first of the current run of pictures, it was criticised by many fans as not fitting in to Bond's world.
Although it is worth pointing out that this commercial relationship already existed before Brosnan left the scene...
The same can be said for the awkward use of Sony electronics and particularly phones when the brand has never fully taken off as a smartphone manufacturer.
“‘Bond Placement’ has its own set of rules, many of which would be a disaster in any other blockbuster - but time after time, it works for Bond and its product placement partners,” said John Barnard, Chairman of Pinewood Studios-based NMG Product Placement, who worked with the Spectre production team.
Leading-man Daniel Craig has defended the practise of joining forces with brands, saying:
“A movie like this costs $118m to make… And it costs another $200m to sell it. So the $200m has to come from somewhere.”
Last year Belvedere Vodka President, Charles Gibb spoke to CNNMoney about the drink company's deal with Bond - saying that what the agent represents is, "Impeccable taste, incredible style, and total sophistication," adding that he is a figure who appeals to both men and women.
This is what both brands and punters buy into when a new 007 film comes around - and the formula works.
Bond appeared in a €270 N Peal cashmere mock turtle-neck jumper in the original poster for the new film - stock of the garment sold out immediately.
His watch in the latest film costs in excess of €5,400. It might be a slightly harder sell - but Christmas is just around the corner if you have a man of 'impeccable taste' in your life who is looking for a new time piece...
