James Bond: A View to a Product Placement

Known as much for the oft-repeated and enthusiastically imitated line, "shaken, not stirred", as he is for his more action-packed exploits, the fictional character James Bond is a famously keen drinker.

Now, a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has examined and quantified 007’s drinking through each of his films, studying how changing habits in the films through the decades act as a reflection for changing attitudes towards alcohol and cigarette consumption generally. One conclusion from the researchers at University of Otago in New Zealand, having analyzed movies from 1962 to 2015, is that the secret agent did in fact have a severe drinking problem.

Beyond figuring out that Bond met half the criteria for alcohol abuse disorder, the study looked at product placements in Bond films. The number of which appearing in Bond films has been steadily increasing decade by decade. In the 1960s, Bond films had an average of about 5 product placements per film, with barely any mention of alcohol brands. By the 2010s an average Bond film featured around 30 product placements per film, which can include anything from alcohol to cars. The amount of alcohol brands making an appearance has also increased significantly since 007 first hit our screens.