Bond, Jamaica share 50th

Mystery, intrigue, charm and, how can we forget, the women, will all be main features of the new James Bond Film, Skyfall, scheduled for worldwide release in November.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise, which is generating enormous levels of consumer interest in Skyfall. It is one of the most anticipated and talked about films this year, providing Heineken the opportunity to engage with consumers in a number of different and compelling ways.

Interestingly, the Bond Franchise shares the same 'birthday' as Jamaica, which will officially recognise its 50th year of independence in August.

The link between Jamaica and the James Bond brand runs deep, particularly because of the fascination author Ian Fleming had with the island.

Goldeneye

Fleming, a British naval intelligence officer, first visited the island shortly after World War II and later purchased a plot of land along Jamaica's north coast and built his home, 'Goldeneye'.

The first of Fleming's novels, Casino Royale, was penned in Jamaica and published in 1953, and there the world was introduced to Fleming's daring fictitious character, James Bond. The alluring Bond, like Fleming, then becomes a frequent visitor to Jamaica for his many missions as evidenced in Live and Let Die (1954), Dr No (1958), The Man With The Golden Gun (1965) and Octopussy (1966).

After his death in 1964, Jamaica continued to benefit from Fleming's Bond legacy and another Bond film, the 1973 Live and Let Die, was partly filmed in the island; while a few years later, Jamaica-born actress and singer, Grace Jones, went on to star as the villainess, May Day, in the 14th James Bond movie, A View To A Kill, (1985).

Apart from Jamaica, there's also the return of a trusted ally that Bond fans can expect to see a lot of next fall - Heineken.

The international beer company recently extended its 15-year partnership with the James Bond franchise to include, for the first time, the participation of James Bond lead actor Daniel Craig in the brand's worldwide campaign.

Skyfall is the 23rd film in the James Bond series, and the sixth consecutive James Bond film that the Heineken brand has been involved with.

excitement is guaranteed

"When two great brands like Heineken and James Bond join together, excitement is guaranteed," said Bob Sprengers, Heineken country manager.

"We are proud of our long standing partnership. The trust that we have built has allowed us to take the partnership to a new level by linking Skyfall directly with our award winning global 'Open Your World' campaign. We are confident our activation plan will ignite the conversation with our consumers and film viewers."

Across the globe, including Jamaica, Heineken will launch its marketing campaign to support the partnership with James Bond in September.

The brand will focus its efforts on creating new levels of excitement for the film in on-premise establishments, supermarkets and retail stores.

Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, the Skyfall producers added: "The level of collaboration with Heineken is unprecedented. We are excited by the global reach and the creativity that the Heineken team is able to deliver."