Product placement: pro or con?

highhopes

I thought I'd create this topic after seeing several people remark about product placement in CR. Maybe it's just me, but I simply never notice that stuff. Not with CR, not with other films, either. In fact, what I tend notice are cans that say "Beer" or "soda," or are gripped unnaturally by the actor so as to hide the label. It didn't even dawn on me when Vesper asked Bond about his watch that I was witnessing something that could be seen as a kind of plug. And it was, I suppose, although it didn't really work for me. Unless Bond responded "$20 Timex." Anyone else feel that product placement isn't especially obtrusive? To me it just seem like recognizing the reality around us.

Loeffelholz

I've discussed it before, but I don't mind the PP in the Bond movies at all; one might as well criticise Ian Fleming for dropping brand names all over the novels...Fleming's rationale was that they helped to ground the character and his wildly improbable adventures in some semblance of reality, and I forgive Eon's indulgences for the same reason. If it defrays part of the expense of bringing us such enjoyable entertainment...so much the better.

It really wasn't until my second go-round thru CR that I really noticed the Sony logo

Where was the Heineken and the Smirnoff? I know they must have been there, but I've still not noticed them ;%

SiCo

It doesn't bother me personally, of all the product placement I didn't even think CR came close to some in the past.

However what I don't like is the Virgin tails - it makes the airport look like Virgin are the only airline there, in my mind this is unrealistic. As for laptops and phones etc it's what the world is like, there is generally someones logo on the front, why not a Sony. Beats everyone using Apple products for 'cool'!

Heiniken was (I think) in the background at the airport, a small stand / bar.
Which leads me onto a question, the phone Bond used, Sony say is the K800i - was it the black or silver one?

Moonraker 5

SiCo wrote:

Which leads me onto a question, the phone Bond used, Sony say is the K800i - was it the black or silver one?

It was a silver K800i... Though I still prefer my black one

As for product placement, I don't mind it so long as it's not too intrusive. Saying that, I did find it becomg intrusive at points in CR. The aforementioned "Omega" line was a bit of a clunker, and the Vaio logo was just too visible. Yeah, granted logos are going to appear, but it just seemed the Vaio and Sony logos were absolutely deliberately placed at points - Vesper's digital camera in Venice for example. Bond's Ford Mondeo and Mr White's Jaguar XJ8 were also perfectly taking up the screen at times.

Persol and Heineken managed to get their names across without being too in your face, and that's the kind of product placement I really don't mind at all.

Smirnoff had a nice big duty free display stand in Miami Airport, by the way

emtiem

SiCo wrote:

However what I don't like is the Virgin tails - it makes the airport look like Virgin are the only airline there, in my mind this is unrealistic.

Might have been equally tricky for BA if it was Terminal 4 at Heathrow!

I actually didn't notice the Virgin tails; thought the Mondeo's beauty shots were going a bit far; the Omega line was fine for me- we didn't even see the watch; Sony Ericsson a bit too much, but as they said, if these people didn't advertise they wouldn't have been able to make the movie, so I can't complain.

The phone logos are at least there in real life; better than the special spy equipment in Aki's car in YOLT which Sony see fit to put their brand on!

jetsetwilly

I thought the Omega dialogue was funny, and something people would say (in fact I didn't think Omega came off that well - Vesper's first thought on seeing that Bond has a nice expensive watch is that it must be a Rolex!). The Sony placement I could handle, and I didn't notice a single Virgin tailfin - I did however notice Beardy Branson, and that's one product I could have done without placing!

However bad it was, at least it never plummeted the depths of Moonraker's billboards

Bond_James_Bond

Yeah the Mondeo was a bit too much - although i have to say it is a fantastic looking car, Bond should NOT have been driving it or at least it should not have been so obvious.

Sir Hillary Bray

Gotta say, aside from the Omega line, which I found quite tacky, I really didn't notice. Maybe because I spend most of my day staring at a laptop, I looked right past the Viao logos.

I think they've gotten smarter about incorporating product placements with actual products. Like jetset says, it's a lot less intrusive than a massive billboard for 7-Up or British Airways. For me, the worst was always the Sharper Image credit card window lock breaker thingy from AVTAK -- I mean, who honestly cares?

highhopes

jetsetwilly wrote:

I thought the Omega dialogue was funny, and something people would say (in fact I didn't think Omega came off that well - Vesper's first thought on seeing that Bond has a nice expensive watch is that it must be a Rolex!).

I had the same thought when it finally dawned on me I was witnessing a product placement. I don't know jack about watches, so when he said Omega, (and with his British accent, at first I thought he said "Amigo." Go figure) I said to myself, "Oh, he's wearing a second-rate watch" even though I have no idea if that's true. I just know Rolex is very expensive.

emtiem

Bond_James_Bond wrote:

Yeah the Mondeo was a bit too much - although i have to say it is a fantastic looking car, Bond should NOT have been driving it or at least it should not have been so obvious.

Well, I have nothing against him driving it as it's just a hire car and Bond has to hire cars every so often. Not many Hertz places have Astons! But yeah- it was shot like a car ad.
Of course he shouldn't have been driving it for a very different reason- the film was set in July 06 and the car isn't even on sale yet!

mahall007

jetsetwilly wrote:

I thought the Omega dialogue was funny, and something people would say (in fact I didn't think Omega came off that well - Vesper's first thought on seeing that Bond has a nice expensive watch is that it must be a Rolex!). The Sony placement I could handle, and I didn't notice a single Virgin tailfin - I did however notice Beardy Branson, and that's one product I could have done without placing!

However bad it was, at least it never plummeted the depths of Moonraker's billboards

so that was in fact Branson at airport security right? thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. and re: MR's billboards, i think that was more a reference to the fact that that part of the movie was shot in Rio which is known for excessive billboard advertising

Osato

Having just watched CR for the second time, I felt the PP was less obtrusive than my first impression on opening night.

The Mondeo makes sense for me - it would be tricky to explain him hiring a top-end sports car to drive from the airport to the hotel. Another example of the new, "realistic" Bond.

The phones and laptops made no impact on my enjoyment at all. The one thing that still irks a little is the Rolex vs. Omega line, it just went a bit too far for comfort.

However, I must agree with the case which says that if constant PP is okay for Fleming's books, it's okay with the films too. And, when you think about it, the smallest details of branding, be it food, drinks, clothing, cars jewellery or whatever, that Fleming gave the reader added a lot of atmospheric verisimilitude to the stories, and helped us place ourselves into Bond's world.

And re. Dickie Branson's appearance: I missed it completely first time, and was pleasantly surprised how brief it was (couple of seconds?) on repeat viewing!

Barry Nelson

I noticed them, but it didn't bother me. The Mondeo seemed like a logical car one would rent. He is in the Bahamas on his own after all. Can't expect Q to show up with a tricked out car all the time. The laptops said Sony Vaio, but they had to say something. The watch line was a little much, but at least we didn't have a 7up or Perrier truck show for Bond to crash into.

lavabubble

The Smirnoff/Diageo plug is most noticeable every time someone is at the bar during the poker scenes. The back of the bar is stacked with bottles and bottles of Diageos brands but to be honest, every trendy bar in the UK has the same setup - bottles against a white light backdrop.

The only other PP I noticed when I saw the film for the second time today was the Louis Vuitton shop given a slightly more than fleeting glance. I don't think the PP was intrusive and at the end of the day, if thats the paycheque that gets films like CR made then so be it.

(I would like to mention though two things, one being that Sony Ericsson phones, in my experience, are user unfriendly and unreliable to an alarming degree and two, I would love to know why no-one ever went out of coverage - can't imagine Bond saying "Damn, I've got no reception!" )

Professor Dent

The Sony stuff was a little overboard. The ones I caught:
- Almost all the laptops were Vaio's.
- Almost all the cell phones were Sony-Ericsson.
- The computer monitors at MI6 has Sony logos on them (front & back).
- After Bond does his classic valet park job, the surveillance DVD he puts in the player has a Sony & a Blu-Ray logo on it.
- In the canal scene at near the end, Vesper is taking a photo with a Sony camera. Ok, but then she sees a guy in the crowd &, when we move back to her, she is still holding the camera (which is now clearly visible in center frame). Best of all, she isn't even taking a picture!
- When Bond is on the boat & going through Vesper's bag at the end, we see her phone & camera with Sony logos visible.

Also, in the Miami Airport, I think Bond runs by a giant Smirnoff display.

Joe