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Most blatant example of product placement

Matt007Matt007
in Bond Movies Posts: 1,314
I suppose the Aston from Goldfinger would be some peoples choice, but I don't think it is considering it's integral to the character and story

I'm talking about PP that is just an ad within a film.

Three blatant examples;

BA ad in Moonraker
Omega reference on CR
Smirnoff in TND

When did PP become so in your face? I think around Moonraker. Was this to balance the books and pay for the huge budget? The 7up ad on the cable car is another example from this film.

What's the worst/most pointless examples?

Comments

  • SharkySharky
    Posts: 266
    The ones you mentioned immediately sprang to my mind when I see the title of the thread.

    I also thought of Eve's dialogue in the PTS of Skyfall about the Volkswagen Beetles, and Bond shaving with his electric razor in DAD (in the version I have it is Phillips, I believe they shot the scene with different makes too, so other countries may have a different make of razor, I might be wrong on that though).

    I remember Carlsberg in the TLD and LTK but they probably get away with it because in TLD there are quite a few Carlsberg signs in the Café when Saunders gets killed so you could understand a café selling lager.

    And in LTK it is the bar fight scene so again it is not so blatant as some of the others and it makes sense for a bar to be advertising lager.
  • PanchitoPistolesPanchitoPistoles 2.0
    Posts: 4,619
    The worst example in the Craig era in my opinion is that ridiculously long close up shot during the PTS showing off Bond's Omega watch.
  • TokolosheTokoloshe Under your bed
    Posts: 2,667
    Smashing the tank through the Perrier lorry in Goldeneye

    The Ford Focus glamour shots in CR, whilst using his Sony Ericsson to navigate.


  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Agreed, the camera lingers on the watch, for ages. :))
  • ReneMathisReneMathis
    Posts: 165
    Got to be the British Airways advertising board stunt in Moonraker, complete with a punchline.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,592
    Let's not forget the "VW Beatles" line in SF.
  • SarkSark Guangdong, PRC
    Posts: 1,138
    PanchitoPistoles wrote: »
    The worst example in the Craig era in my opinion is that ridiculously long close up shot during the PTS showing off Bond's Omega watch.

    Sorry, but we really needed a good ten seconds of Bond's hand sloooowly shifting the gear forward ;)
  • Matt007Matt007
    Posts: 1,314
    Yes that's a good one. The watch in SF. Also there's a shot in QOS when he enters Slate's room which is similar.

    The Perrier lorry....
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    :)) yes Bond did crash into or on a few Pierrier lorries.
  • Suivez_ce_parachuteSuivez_ce_parachute
    Posts: 2,015
    Don't forget that before the Volkswagen beetles, Moneypenny says Patrice is in the black Audi. Which is owned by Volkswagen. And Ms Broccoli said the choice of VW was random, hm...
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    PanchitoPistoles wrote: »
    The worst example in the Craig era in my opinion is that ridiculously long close up shot during the PTS showing off Bond's Omega watch.

    This is pretty diabolical to be fair but at least it's just a standard shot, even if it does last half the running time of the film. The DAD shaver and the CR Ford are actually filmed like they are adverts. With the Ford one I half expect some small print along the bottom of the screen outling the T&C's (although Arnold's brassy rendition of YKMN in this scene is pretty good).

    I also detest the limp excuse for a car chase in QOS which seems merely to be an advert for how nippy Camille's god awful Ford Ka (or whatever it is) is around town.

    The Jinx Ford Thunderbird is another example - literally serves no purpose in the film except because Ford are throwing money at EON.
  • Suivez_ce_parachuteSuivez_ce_parachute
    edited April 2015 Posts: 2,015
    I remember in the theater that during one of my viewings of CR I heard someone saying to his neighbor "Blu Ray !"

    About the Ford in CR, it reminded me of that scene in a French movie (alas the end is cut too short, but you've got the beginning)

    http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5845748/pub_pour_la_safrane_dans_la_cit_de_la_peur/
  • Matt007Matt007
    Posts: 1,314
    Actually the Camile QOS car sequence is atrocious. I forgot that. Tonally different to the movie complete with advertising angles and editing.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2015 Posts: 23,883
    For me it's the Omega Seamaster 300m used during the Brosnan run. It was consistent in each of his movies and had gadgets in each film as well.

    Omega used this Bond positioning to convincingly re-establish their brand after a period in the wilderness with quartz watches in the 70's/90's, so Bond had a tremendous impact on their bottom line and they benefited substantially from it.
    ----

    The second worst offender for me was BMW, again during the Brosnan run. During the first three movies the product placement of BMW was quite egregious, especially given it's not a British brand (their short ownership of Rover Group and current ownership of Mini/Rolls Royce notwithstanding).
    ----

    I did not mention Rolex or Aston Martin because both of these brands have been synonymous with Bond movies since the 60's (and in the case of Rolex - has references in the novels), unlike Omega & BMW.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    edited April 2015 Posts: 4,589
    Most product placement doesn't bother me, because the products are already around us, and we tend to refer to them by brand name, anyway. So there's a level of realism there. That said...

    While the "in the black Audi" line in SF didn't bother me (how else would she describe it?), the "VW Beetles" one did: totally forced and unnatural.

    Same with the whole watch conversation in CR. But at first it threw me. Living in the States, I had never heard it pronounced "oh-MEE-guh."

    The Ford shot didn't bother me...what bothered me was that BOND WAS DIVING A FORD! GAG!!!!
  • Suivez_ce_parachuteSuivez_ce_parachute
    Posts: 2,015
    When we can discuss the leaks in one year, there'll be funny things to discuss about it. Yes, they even talked about the product placement in the previous Craig Bonds.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    edited April 2015 Posts: 14,693
    Sark wrote: »
    PanchitoPistoles wrote: »
    The worst example in the Craig era in my opinion is that ridiculously long close up shot during the PTS showing off Bond's Omega watch.
    Sorry, but we really needed a good ten seconds of Bond's hand sloooowly shifting the gear forward ;)
    Completely agree. This is the one that came to mind immediately, and the only instance of product placement that truly annoys me. I love when we get a good look at a new watch, but the shot lingers on the <a href="http://en.worldtempus.com/sites/default/files/articles/wysiwyg/333546/12_1031_Omega_Bond1_6.jpg">BUY OMEGA</a> for far too long- but the worst part IMO is how it is shamelessly centred in the frame- never mind concentrating on what Bond is actually doing- controlling the gears. After that shot, I am left staring at my own watch, gobsmacked that there is still *another* two hours of the film to go (:|

    Most of the PP does not bother me, but still, I prefer it subtle and clever- even like Bond running past a Heineken poster in the subway. I didn't catch that one at first. I do like how most shots of a <a href="http://coolspotters.com/files/photos/4320/sony-ericsson-m600-and-casino-royale-gallery.png?1357467067">BUY SONY</a> in CR had the branding only just inside the frame, it does not feel intrusive as we are focusing on the text on screen.

    I also agree that MR was the first to use PP blatantly- it's basically a 2 hour advertisement. Just look at the amount of brands in the end credits- much longer than Corrine's list of things not to do on a first date. :)) Actually, MR may also be the most blatant use of PP, but there's a certain charm to the film which helps me to overlook all those enormous Seiko and 7Up billboards, whereas a film like SF is more focused, and PP needs to be subtle and more cleverly applied.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    I don't really get the loathing for the 7Up adverts in MR. It's a cafe/bar isn't it? Why wouldn't they have posters for 7Up everywhere?

    And does just the mere fact of being in a Bond film make something aspirational? I can understand the kudos to a company of having Bond wear their watch or drive the car but when was the last time you thought 'whenever I see an inept, bald henchman crash a cable car through a bar it really makes me feel like a citrus flavoured fizzy drink'?

    And while the BA poster in MR is pretty gratuitous that was actually their slogan so as a gag it works reasonably well.

    The Omega shot in SF is far more offensive because they basically stop the action for 10 seconds just to push this watch down our throats.

  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    The one that always makes me cringe is from TND

    "This looks familiar" (holds up Rolex)
    "We've made some improvements"
    "Have you indeed"
    (Close up of watch)

    Yeoh looks like someone is pointing a gun to her head off camera.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Lol. The PO doesn't bother me in the slightest. We're surrounded by all these things every day but I do get a kick out of how they're advertised in the movies. Some of them are dine in a nice subtle way others are executed embarrassingly bad but in the end as long as I get my Bond movie it's all good.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    I've just remembered another one that winds me up. There's a scene in SF where Bond gets out of a swimming pool and then sits at a bar. As far I can discern it only exists so Bond can look at his brand new Sony phone while dressed like the cover of GQ magazine and get a text about when Patrice is arriving - information that could be told to him by Q or Tanner in a previous scene
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