Close-Up: Live Issue - Is James Bond still good for brands?

With a huge number of ads featuring 007, have the Bond tie-ins gone too far, Kate Nettleton asks.

Would Ian Fleming's James Bond, the connoisseur of Martinis, cars and women, really have sat down to watch a high-definition TV, read The Sun or bought scratchcards? It's unlikely. Yet brands such as Sony, Camelot, Sony Ericsson, The Sun and Coke Zero, are still paying top dollar for brand associations with the film franchise, in an attempt to gain class by association with the debonair secret agent.

And the latest film, Quantum of Solace, has seen brands infiltrate Bond through product placement, and try to jump on the bandwagon beyond the cinema screen. For weeks before the film's release, TV ad breaks have been filled with Bond-themed spots.

The number of brands allowed into the film itself has been carefully limited, but there's been a proliferation of other brands going Bond-crazy. With so many companies jumping into bed with Bond, there is a fear that the franchise is being devalued and that the 'official' Bond brands are struggling to achieve cut-through.

Stef Calcraft, a founding partner at Mother, says: 'Scarcity equals value in life generally, and it's just been overkill this year. In the past, the associations were with premium products. But now, it seems like he's only got to blow his nose and Kleenex will be associated with it.'

With Bond becoming increasingly commercially promiscuous, advertisers need to be very careful their brand fits. If the fit feels contrived, consumers will see through it and ultimately become irritated.

Peter Walshe, the global brands director at Millward Brown, explains: 'Gratuitously adding a Bond theme will be seen through by the consumer The ones that are not gratuitous, and make something of the association by creating ads that interest, surprise and delight, will work, no matter how many other Bond ads are around.'