We are studying budgeting in Chapter 9 in the cost class. Suppose you are Omega , long time Swiss rival of Rolex. Neither is a watch but a high priced fashion accessory. Omega got some mileage years ago by getting the US Astronauts to wear them into space. Rolex sponsors sporting events and has had many athletes promoting the brand. Another more recent tactic is to embed the product in a popular movie.
Two Bond movies back, 007 eschewed the BMW to return to Aston Martin. Haley Berry drove a Ford Thunderbird in that movie, even the bad guy was in a Jaguar, all Ford products. Revlon put on a gigantic campaign for make up products featuring Ms. Berry at that time. Ford products are also featured in the popular 24 television series.
Now Bond has traded his Rolex which in fact he wore in the original book series for an Omega. The entire movie is a generation shift in one of the most successful and long running movie series in history. The producers face the question of how to introduce a younger audience and keep the franchise so to speak running.
The answer is to introduce a new, younger Bond. Craig was born the year I was a junior in college, now that’s young! Indeed Casino Royale was in fact the first book in the Fleming series and the only one not made into a ‘serious’ movie, Woody Allen did a spoof of it decades back. So the idea is to introduce the audience to Bond and explain how he came to the double O section. And it is done amid current tensions, right down to creating a new background for the spy. He has come up through the ranks in a series of British adventures in the Mid East and other high risk spots. Fleming’s Bond had risen to the rank of Commander in the HMS Royal Navy before being drawn into the ranks of what is now MI6.
Well all of this is great fun and I have seen the movie trailer and it looks like much of the original much grittier Bond has been re introduced to the film, Roger Moore is a nice guy but hardly a gritty one. The original Bond was a chain smoking hard drinking gambler who carried a load of scars from his misadventures. But the question is, will this sell more Omega watches if Omega had not spent the money to promote the watch in this manner. How would you recommend that Omega determine whether its investment in the Bond film paid off? Gee didn’t think I could tie all this back to accounting, did you?
DLE
Professor Elam 
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