The name’s Bond, James Bond …
Seen the new Bond movie yet? I’m a Bond fan and while I’ve yet to see Quantum of Solace, I will admit to being ticked off by all the product placement in Die Another Day (… also known as Buy Another Day). This is why the “Buyology” theories of author Martin Lindstrom recently caught my attention. Lindstrom specialises in neuromarketing – described as the point at which brain science and marketing meet.
Back to James Bond, there’s said to be US$150 million worth of product placements in Quantum of Solace, yet Lindstrom argues much of it may be totally wasted. Click here to find out more.
Lindstrom has plenty of other interesting tips and tricks of marketing, including how anti smoking campaigns can encourage smoking; how negative campaigning can be a winner for politicians and how associating a ritual with a product can increase sales.
Tags: James Bond, Martin Lindstrom
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Yep – I fit the Lindstrom theory – having seen Quantum of Solace last week (our first night out without 8-week-old Zoe) I now cannot recall any of the brands featured – apart from the obvious Aston Martin – watching it again they’d be sure to stand out but part of enjoying the Bond franchise is losing yourself in the film (in between reassuring [discretely read] txts on baby status) and filtering out cynicism and any vestige of critical thought.
My verdict on the film? I left the cinema stirred but not shaken.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I think the Bond movies were amongst the first to intentionally use product placement so this is not new it is simply part of the process now. It also seems to be a way of adding cred to the franchise in that it is so influential that high end products want to be associated with it. The difference now is we are far less subtle. We don’t just put the products in the movie but we also tell you about it. If you look in the mags like Vanity Fair they are packed with movie stars modelling products and look at the money the likes of David Beckam and dare I say it Paris Hilton make. They are walking billboards.
I noted the Sex and the City movie was also extremely big on this and our own home grown shorty street is very big on it. Like advertising product placement is done because it really does work. Likely if you are put off you are not the person they are looking to reach. The theory is that people see these ’stars’ and their characters as aspirational and using the products they can share in a little of their lives. Interestingly I don’t think the reality shows do product placement to the same extent or perhaps we don’t know about it. There are very few marketing free zones left in the world today. Would you believe the new security systems have even opened up an opportunity. Coming back home from Sydney last night I couldn’t help but notice that the trays used to put your bits in now have an advert on them. Help!!