With Casino Royale on general release today, Shannon McKenzie looks at the shades James Bond will be slipping on, and what effect this might have on consumers
Bond, James Bond. Suave, sophisticated and quintessentially British, Commander Bond has more than just beautiful women longing to be associated with him. The last Bond film Die Another Day raised a record £44m from product placement. Bollinger, Omega, Sony, Ferrari and Aston Martin were just a few of the international luxury brands lining up to make an appearance in the film. When Commander Bond makes his 21st outing today in Casino Royale, many of these brands will again be out in force. For the second time they will be joined by Italian luxury sunglass brand Persol - part of the Luxottica stable.
Bond wears two different models of Persol sunglasses in Casino Royale, which goes back in time to chart his rise from young man to secret agent. The sunglasses he wears as a young man were specifically created, with special consideration to the era in which the film is set. They are not currently available, and according to Luxotttica, never will be. The second pair, which he wears as a secret agent, is the 2720 model, which are a staple of the current Persol collection.
Product placement is growing, says Ian Twinn, director of public affairs at Isba, the representative body of British advertisers. It is becoming an important part of the economics of a film, but the key to successful placement is subtlety. 'Product placement cannot be obvious,' he says, 'otherwise the press stop reporting about the actual film and start reporting on how terrible the product placement is, and that is not a good thing for brands. If it is too obvious, well the whole cinema audience will start groaning. Brands don't want their products to be seen irresponsibly, they do have to be careful.'
Sunglasses are one of the ideal candidates for product placement, as the branding is not immediately obvious. Yet they are usually not a background prop, but instead directly linked the star or character wearing them, and are often used to communicate something about that character. When managed carefully, the results can be phenomenal. When Tom Cruise slid out from behind a door in Risky Business wearing a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers, product sales leapt by close to 50 per cent. Those few minutes on screen turned the brand into a mainstayer of the 1980s, all the more impressive given Ray-Ban was considering discontinuing that particular model.
LONG-TERM BRAND BUILDING
However, sales are not always the sole, or primary, motivation behind placement, notes Twinn. 'A lot of advertising and product placement is not actually about more sales, but rather it is about a continuing engagement with consumers. It is about building a brand name, a profile,' he explains. 'And in some cases it is also about saying to people out there who have already bought the product "You have made the right choice, you are paying the right price and this is a quality product".'
Indeed, Luxottica UK marketing manager James Gotch confirms increased sales are not the aim of Persol's appearance in Casino Royale. Persol has long been associated with A-list celebrities and the silver screen Pierce Brosnan wore them in Die Another Day and Steve McQueen wore the Persol 649 model in The Thomas Crown Affair and the brand's reputation means it has never had to pay to appear in films. This is the first time Persol has agreed to a mutual arrangement and the aim, Gotch says, is to consolidate and improve its profile, particularly in the UK.
'We wanted to make an overt statement that this is a brand appropriate for discerning men in their 30s and 40s, and we have done so by putting these frames on a character that those people can relate to and aspire to be like. This is not about sales return, it is long-term brand building, it is about the next chapter in the Persol franchise,' he explains. 'We wanted to reinforce the message to people who already know or understand our brand, as well as extend the message to potential new customers, so we hope to reach a new generation through the Bond movie.'
James Bond, notes Gotch, is the perfect 'new face' for the Persol brand, as his appeal is universal. 'The Bond character is the embodiment of what the Persol brand symbolises,' he says. 'He is suave, sophisticated and elegant and those characteristics are the aspiration of generations - father and sons alike have grown up admiring Bond. He is the kind of man that would wear Persol, and it is no coindcidence that he also wears an Omega watch and drives an Aston Martin.'
The movie will also mark the start of a new campaign to introduce the Persol brand in the UK where, in contrast to the US and Europe, it is remarkably underexposed. 'Persol is not a well known brand in the UK and we are using the latest Bond movie as something of a launch platform,' Gotch says. 'We will be giving the brand a much greater profile in 2007, and the movie is the start of it. At present the brand is only available in high end department stores such as Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, as well as a few discerning independents, but we plan to widen this throughout 2007. The timing has not always be right to step up the brand awareness in the UK, but the time is right now and we will be talking to the trade a lot more about our product.'
BEYOND THE BADGE
Part of the reasoning behind the profile boost is the recent changes in male consumer behaviour. 'Men are becoming more discerning. Previously male fashion was all about labels and badging while women made style choices, men made brand choices.' Gotch says. 'That is starting to change now, men are making more discerning choices based on style and design, so now we have an opportunity to present them with a brand that will meet those needs.'
As a brand, Persol has very high product and design values. Handmade in Italy, the frames feature the Meflecto system, which incorporates two cylinders built into the sides which give the frames a greater amount of stability and flexibility. For those in the know, the brand is easily identifiable by the trademark steel 'Supreme' arrow on the temples. 'Some people in the audience will recognise the brand in the movie, and that is fantastic, and others won't but they may discover Persol later on and make the connection then.'
Some of the brands appearing in Casino Royale are launching limited edition products to coincide with the movie, for example, the new Ford Mondeo makes its film debut and to celebrate this Ford is offering deals on a selection of their vehicles. But, interestingly, Persol and Luxottica have made a conscious choice to avoid this, basing their decision on brand principles. 'We aren't launching any special products. The association with the Bond character is enough for us and I think launching a special edition frame could in fact go against what the Persol brand stands for,' Gotch says.
'Most of Persol's success comes from word-of-mouth recommendation and discovery. It is a brand which people feel very personal about. This is not a brand built on crass, loud, unsophisticated messages.'