25 replies to this topic

[JCRendle]

I didn't find the product placement in the film to be be too jarring. Bond drinking a beer in the beginning wasn't too in your face and if I recall correctly you didn't even see the label. The only noticeable part for me was when tanner was drinking when he and Q were tracking Bond and M - that did seem out of place and it wasn't pulled off well - and Eve name checking the VW Beatles.

How bad did the product placement seem to you?

[thecasinoroyale]

It wasn't bad at all compared to other films where we see logos/signs of companies - just adds to the real world they are in. The ones I actually took notice of and saw were....

• Omega - A few shots of Bond's hand and watch, and some posters in the London Underground
• Heineken - Obviously the trademark green bottle with Bond and Tanner drinking and a poster in the London Underground
• Sony - Laptop and phone, but again, not obviously lingered

I didn't notice Coke Zero unless they were stocked in the fridge at Shanghai.

There was nothing in your face as much as 'Casino Royale's infamous "Rolex?" "Omega." "Beautiful." advert line, so I think again the Media blew everything up no-end.

We've seen famous products in all the films, but they just add to the scenery and items Bond happens to want to use, as we do in our everyday lives, so I thought it was fine in 'Skyfall'.

[Messervy]

It wasn't bad at all compared to other films where we see logos/signs of companies - just adds to the real world they are in. The ones I actually took notice of and saw were....

• Omega - A few shots of Bond's hand and watch, and some posters in the London Underground
• Heineken - Obviously the trademark green bottle with Bond and Tanner drinking and a poster in the London Underground
• Sony - Laptop and phone, but again, not obviously lingered

I didn't notice Coke Zero unless they were stocked in the fridge at Shanghai.

There was nothing in your face as much as 'Casino Royale's infamous "Rolex?" "Omega." "Beautiful." advert line, so I think again the Media blew everything up no-end.

We've seen famous products in all the films, but they just add to the scenery and items Bond happens to want to use, as we do in our everyday lives, so I thought it was fine in 'Skyfall'.

Agree with you. Actually, it seems that almost all of the PP scenes happen in the beginning of the film (the Beetles line, the long shot at Bond's Omega when he's manipulating the crane, the Heineken bottle), as if Mendes wanted to get get rid of the PP scenes at once to then focus on a regular shooting (except Tanner's Vaio computer a bit later on at MI6's).

All in all, I found the PP to be much lighter than in some previous films (most notably TND).

[SecretAgentFan]

It wasn't bad at all compared to other films where we see logos/signs of companies - just adds to the real world they are in. The ones I actually took notice of and saw were....

• Omega - A few shots of Bond's hand and watch, and some posters in the London Underground
• Heineken - Obviously the trademark green bottle with Bond and Tanner drinking and a poster in the London Underground
• Sony - Laptop and phone, but again, not obviously lingered

I didn't notice Coke Zero unless they were stocked in the fridge at Shanghai.

There was nothing in your face as much as 'Casino Royale's infamous "Rolex?" "Omega." "Beautiful." advert line, so I think again the Media blew everything up no-end.

We've seen famous products in all the films, but they just add to the scenery and items Bond happens to want to use, as we do in our everyday lives, so I thought it was fine in 'Skyfall'.

Agree with you. Actually, it seems that almost all of the PP scenes happen in the beginning of the film (the Beetles line, the long shot at Bond's Omega when he's manipulating the crane, the Heineken bottle), as if Mendes wanted to get get rid of the PP scenes at once to then focus on a regular shooting (except Tanner's Vaio computer a bit later on at MI6's).

All in all, I found the PP to be much lighter than in some previous films (most notably TND).

Exactly!

[JCRendle]

Nothing anywhere as bad as the Perrier Tank Chase in GoldenEye

[Single-O-Seven]

The billboard hoardings in MR were jarring. How often did 7Up products turn up in that film?

[marktmurphy]

Were the VW Beetles actually product placement? I couldn't decide: they weren't even the current model.

[univex]

Nah, probably not. Although there was the audi at the beginning, that´s VW as well.

All and all, very well done Mr. Mendes, once again. Besides, no more cellphone-based script. That´s my only gripe with CR. That and that idious Ford Mondeo.

[Vauxhall]

I didn't even notice the posters on the underground. Obviously too subtle for me.

I quite liked Tanner having a beer to recover after a hard day at work. It was nice that neither Bond nor Tanner was forced to hold the beer bottle to clearly display the Heineken logo; much more tasteful.

[JCRendle]

I don't mind them winding down after work with a beer, but while at work is a bit much.

[marktmurphy]

I don't mind them winding down after work with a beer, but while at work is a bit much.

No, it's fine.

[JCRendle]

I don't mind them winding down after work with a beer, but while at work is a bit much.

No, it's fine.

A nice, blunt reply. Sorry if I find a high ranking MI6 member drinking a beer in an official building during a major crisis a bit jarring. But "it's fine" - a well thought out argument. When I have opposing views, at least I try to give a reasoning behind the views.

[Vauxhall]

I noticed there were Virgin Atlantic posters in the Shanghai airport terminal. Three out of three for them in the Craig era.

[marktmurphy]

I don't mind them winding down after work with a beer, but while at work is a bit much.

No, it's fine.

A nice, blunt reply. Sorry if I find a high ranking MI6 member drinking a beer in an official building during a major crisis a bit jarring. But "it's fine" - a well thought out argument. When I have opposing views, at least I try to give a reasoning behind the views.

Thank you. It's after hours- they're on their own working quietly during a crisis. It's an informal and somewhat against-the-rules bit of working and they're trying to save the life of their boss. A bit of beer is hardly a problem in those circumstances- a blunt reply was all that bizarre accusation warranted, frankly.

[hilly]

After sitting through endless Bond-related adverts prior to the film starting, my wife and I decide to play spot the Product Placement.
As others have said, they fortunately managed to get most of them out of the way during the PTS ( plus the film itself kept my attention), but there were several lingering shots of Bond's watch, a need for Eve to stress that they were chasing an AUDI! and that Bond was on a train full of VW BEETLES!. We were left in no doubt that Bond was using a CAT digger to smash his way through the train but, aside from a couple of Heineken money shots, I thought it was reasonably restrained..

[thecasinoroyale]

It's not too bad looking at it, I mean I imagine if we were in that situation, we would say those things also and the fact there are products we recognise in the films makes it more real.

The CAT digger may have been there intentionally or not for me as it just worked and blended in with the scene, rather than try cover up logos or names it was just there for us take as something we know.

I think the posters only got my eye as that is something I spot during films, I like to see what the film world advertises, if it's something real or made up, and the fact it was real once again made the film more real.

Gutted we didn't get another Richard Branson cameo as Patrice's target in Shanghai. Never mind!

[marktmurphy]

After sitting through endless Bond-related adverts prior to the film starting, my wife and I decide to play spot the Product Placement.
As others have said, they fortunately managed to get most of them out of the way during the PTS ( plus the film itself kept my attention), but there were several lingering shots of Bond's watch, a need for Eve to stress that they were chasing an AUDI! and that Bond was on a train full of VW BEETLES!.

Dunno- I don't know what else they'd say about the Audi; seemed natural to me. The Beetles were weird: what she said was so strange that it seemed like product placement, but they were old Beetles so it didn't seem like placement.

[bonds_walther]

In SF, there was nothing quite as bad as the scene in CR where Bond reviews the Ocean Club security footage. I cringe when I see Bond put the disc in the player so that the Sony logo is square on to the camera. Couple that with the Ford Mondeo advert that appears a few minutes before...

In SF, the only time that I was distracted by PP was when Bond is in the digger in the PTS. The shot of his hand manipulating the controls lingers there a little too long.

[Pussfeller]

After CR's Omega thing, I'm ready for anything.

[SkyfallCraig]

The Coca Zero is present in the scene of the tube, when Bond enters in the first coach, a guy at his left is holding it in the right hand.

[Vauxhall]

Noticed the Coca-Cola Zero in the London Underground sequences this time; both on posters and the bottle held by the tube passenger.

Also spotted Heineken crates in Istanbul just before Patrice drives up the stairs towards the rooftop on his motorcycle.

I was keeping an eye out for the airline code that Bond receives for Patrice's flight, assuming that it would be a Virgin Atlantic code, but it's not. The identifier is EWA, which was previously the now defunct East-West Airlines. Odd choice, unless it's a nod to something else.

[marktmurphy]

The Coca Zero is present in the scene of the tube, when Bond enters in the first coach, a guy at his left is holding it in the right hand.

I think someone in Q Branch has it on their desk too.



I mentioned it in another thread, but it's interesting that the Shanghai scene features massive neon billboards very heavily and yet the scene is free of product placement. I was struck that in a film so accused of PP it's nice that they kept that scene free of it.

Nah, probably not. Although there was the audi at the beginning, that´s VW as well.

Bond also drives a Mercedes (which is hardly glimpsed), but I'd say that Jaguar Land Rover are the big motoring partner: one Jag , a Land Rover Defender, a Range Rover and a brief appearance from two other Defenders as the baddies' cars at Skyfall.
Probably the best kind of PP- it's so unobtrusive as to garner no complaints because those cars are perfect casting for their roles.

[bonds_walther]

Spotted some Heineken in the fridges behind the bar while Bond waits for Patrice's flight number. When I say some, I really mean rows and rows...

[quantumofsolace]

http://www.dailymail...kyfall-DVD.html

[quantumofsolace]

whatculture june 18 2013 http://whatculture.c...d-an-iphone.php

Product placement is an old and not-so-honoured tradition. Beginning mostly with the excessive use of cigarettes in the 60′s to modern films like Skyfall acting as an expensive Sony brochure, the use of real world products in cinema is nothing new. Product placement is often criticised an cited as a blight on cinema, but I pose you this question: does it really matter?

I’ll start with a recent example I’ve already touched on: Skyfall. This mega-grossing film was considered one of the crown jewels of 2012, a Bond film for the old and new fans and one with smarts and sophistication. The film was, in case you are blind and didn’t notice, funded and partly owned by Sony. How can the average user tell? Well, Bond pulls out his Sony phone to send an email to Q on his Sony laptop while watching a Sony TV. Many fans hated this “insane” product placement. However, it served a purpose. Being a film Sony was definitely banking on with a large $200 million budget, they definitely wanted it to succeed. Now, budgeting is a big issue in films. On one hand, you want to spend enough money so that the quality of the film is the best it can be. But, spend too much and you might lose money or barely make any. So saving money is key.

Now, Sony wouldn’t ever charge themselves for their own products. They could just get them. Why spend extra money getting Bond an iPhone or Galaxy when they just give him a Sony Xperia and save the money. Does Bond using a Sony phone as opposed to an iPhone impact the film? No. Could he do his job better if his phone had NFC or Air Gesture? Doubt it. The products placed throughout Skyfall are just to show “Okay, the character is now using their laptop.” It doesn’t really impact the story or tone of the film.

A commonly used example Skyfall is a shot of Q using his laptop, with the Sony logo very visible in the shot. People immediately went to conclusions saying Sony just wanted their product in the film. Well, if Q was using an Acer laptop, the Acer logo would be in the shot. Is there a difference?

The use of real world products also allows a sense of reality to the movie. If a character used a phone or computer that had no resemblance to any real world brand or product line, then we wouldn’t really recognise what the item is. If suddenly a HTC phone is pulled out, suddenly we know what the product is and how it works. Building reality and immersion is important to modern film makers with formats like 3D, IMAX and High Frame Rate (HFR) trying to make the film feel “real.” If the movie doesn’t resemble the world, then no 3D IMAX HFR mega production will matter not if nothing is close to reality.

Product placement is not the blight on humanity some believe it would be. In the end it serves only as a minor annoyance, and although it isn’t ideal it certainly helps the film industry in the long run.

[The Shark]

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