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For Your Ads Only: 50 Years of James Bond Product Placement

Julian Sancton
Sean Connery, as James Bond, leans proudly against an Aston Martin in Goldfinger
Sean Connery, as James Bond, leans proudly against an Aston Martin in Goldfinger Photograph by Everett Collection

James Bond would be in his early nineties today if he weren’t fictional. But like Batman, Bart Simpson, and possibly Tom Cruise, he remains an un-aging cultural reference point, inhabiting younger and younger bodies and playing with ever-more-sophisticated gadgets. He is a perpetual fantasy that adapts to the times—or at least to the tastes of males from 18 to 30 and the advertisers who court them.

A handful of characteristics define Bond as Bond and connect each new incarnation to Ian Fleming’s legacy, primarily that he’s as promiscuous with women as he is faithful to vodka martinis—shaken not stirred. Which is why some 007 fans felt betrayed by the news of a major partnership between the makers of Skyfall, the 23rd Bond movie (to be released in November), and Dutch brewer Heineken.