Are consumers fed up of being bombarded by brands while they are being entertained?

The association between product placement and James Bond is not new. After all, author Ian Fleming himself dropped a few brand names such as Cartier and Bentley into his stories. Bond’s breakfast when in London, according to the author, included coffee from De Bry in New Oxford Street, brewed in an American Chemex, drunk from Minton china and toast with Norwegian heather honey from Fortnum and Mason. Knowing that Fleming himself used real products in his books, it seems natural that product placement should also find its way into the Bond films. The difference is that, unlike the current franchise owners, Fleming (almost certainly) did not receive a penny from the featured brands. In Bond movies, however, since the very first instalment in 1962, brands such as British Airways, PanAm, Perrier, Finlandia Vodka, Smirnoff, Ford, Omega, Mattel, Calvin Klein, Virgin Atlantic, Revlon, Samsonite, Sony Ericcson, Kodak and many more have paid millions to associate themselves with the franchise.