Of Beer and Bond

The other week it was reported that James Bond will drink beer in the new movie as part of a deal with Heineken worth $45 million. I think this is taking product placement too far.

I'm never too bothered when a character in a film uses a branded laptop or buys a certain kind of soft drink. In fact, Bond himself is no stranger to sponsorship deals, as this cringeworthy clip proves:

But selling off an iconic part of a movie legend is out of bounds.

Bond is not a beer man. He is a spirits man. When he is not ordering the classic martini "shaken not stirred" he is drinking bourbon, vodka or rum. I always find it quite funny in Goldfinger when he orders a mint julep.

And, let's face it, ordering a bottle of beer "shaken not stirred" would have disastrous consequences.

The only time Bond strays from the spirits is when he orders a vintage bottle of champagne worth more than my house. The man is all class and I just can't imagine him walking up to a bar and saying: "I'll have a Heineken, please love.'' It just doesn't fit.

Imagine if Indiana Jones got rid of his hat and replaced it with a baseball cap with "Drink Yummy Beer" written across it. Sure, they could make lots of money from it, but it wouldn't be right.

Changing this well established part of Bond's character for a truckload of cash is going too far. It reminds me of a line in The Simpsons when Krusty the Clown is defending his product endorsements. "They drove a dump truck full of money up to my house! I'm not made of stone!" he wails.

But don't get me wrong. Sometimes, product placement can be fun. Brands are, after all, a part of our world and sometimes have a place in movies.

I like the product placement in Back to the Future 2 with the Mattel hoverboards, futuristic self-lacing Nike shoes and crazy Pepsi dispensers. It's fun.

I also like the way Quentin Tarantino has got round the problem by creating his own universe of products. His characters smoke a brand called Red Apple and eat obscure vintage cereals that they definitely didn't find in the corner dairy.

I'm looking forward to the new Bond film, called Skyfall and out in November, but I just hope clunky cash deals like this don't get in the way of a good time.

What do you think? Is this a deal too far? Any great moments of product placement you'd like to share?

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