As we've reported earlier, this fall's 007 romp "Skyfall" will have what can charitably be described as "a whole heaping fuckload" of complex promotional tie-ins, corporate sponsorships, and licensing arrangements. Well, we've now got our first look at one of those tie-ins – with Coke Zero. That's right – Scott Pilgrim and James Bond will soon have the same taste in diet soda. What's more – a new international banner has been unveiled, and Roger Moore proclaims Daniel Craig the best James Bond ever. Does he get a prize? A twelve-pack of Coke Zero maybe?
First – the Coca-Cola can, because, as "Breaking Bad" taught us to ask, Do you really want to live in a world without Coke? As Gizmodo points out, the special Coke Zero cans, which feature a vaguely Daniel Craig-ish silhouette of the superspy in his tuxedoed finery, are the lynchpin in a larger Coca-Cola marketing campaign which asks fans of sugary bubbly water to "Unlock the 007 In You." We can assume this is metaphoric, although if we had a tiny secret agent inside of us, that would be horribly uncomfortable and we'd want that guy out – and fast.
Of course, what everyone will worry about, just as we did when the Heineken tie-in was announced, is that James Bond will go into some swanky hotel or maybe an illegally gambling den, and ask for a Coke Zero instead of a martini (we're guessing he wouldn't ask for the Coke shaken because that'd just be messy). Although there are a whole host of other characters in this new Bond adventure (among them: Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Javier Bardem) who could conceivably want the refreshing taste of Coca-Cola without all the calories (please have Ralph Fiennes do it!) We're a little baffled that no one at Coke came up with a way of doing a Coke Double-Zero-Seven type thing. We've clearly been thinking too much about this.
Along similar promotional lines, a new international banner (via Best Movies Ever News) has been unveiled for the movie. In keeping with the refined, sophisticated, streamlined look of all of the promotional materials from the film, this one just features Daniel Craig, on his back, holding a gun. The composition of the banner is super-nifty, although we're really, really ridiculously excited about this movie – we hope it could be the "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol" of this year, a brilliant, swanky, late-in-the-game extravaganza put together by an incredibly talented director working at the top of his game (in "Skyfall's" case, Sam Mendes, for "M:I-4" it was Brad Bird).
And now Roger Moore! While talking with the UK's Digital Spy website, the 84-year-old former Bond (really? Jesus), said that he prefers Daniel Craig's James Bond. "I loved 'Casino Royale' and Daniel Craig," he told Digital Spy. "He is a wonderful actor, certainly the best actor to play Bond."
Moore's portrayal of Bond (and the films he was involved with) were often criticized for their emphatic goofiness, so it should be no surprise that the actor is looking forward to the additional humor in "Skyfall." "I believe 'Skyfall' is going to have a lot more humor in it than 'Quantum of Solace' did," Moore said. "Something I'll be pleased to see."
When speaking of the corporate involvement in the 007 franchise, he was painfully frank. "Of course, we had executives breathing down our necks when I was playing [Bond], but I never took them seriously," Moore said. "In fact, I don't think I took anything seriously. Except making sure I got paid on Friday." And just imagine if they had the lucrative corporate sponsorship they have now!
"Skyfall" opens in the UK on October 26th and in America on November 9th.