James Bond GETS AN UPDATE
The days of James Bond dropping his famous “shaken not stirred” line are behind us.
Marketing for the world’s most famous franchise was turned on its head a while ago, however. First, the Aston Martin disappeared, then the Rolex: our man in MI5 has since been driving a BMW and wears an Omega watch.
Dutch Brewery Heineken has signed a contract with Eon Productions, which owns the rights to the James Bond franchise. Craig will appear in a Sam Mendes-directed commercial to be shot for the brand and will need to appear in at least one scene while drinking a Heineken, according to this new agreement.
Mendes is also directing the next installment of the franchise, which is called Skyfall and stars Ralph Fiennes and Helen McCrory along with Craig. Its release has been set for November.
According to an interview in the Ad Age piece, “Bond is a perfect fit for us,” said Lesya Lysyj, chief marketing officer of U.S. importer Heineken USA. “He is the epitome of the man of the world,” referring to the name of the brand’s global campaign.
The question is, will Daniel Craig guzzle the hops from the bottle or will he sip it charily from a high-ball glass?
I say the latter—noblesse oblige.