Feels like I ought’ta start this entry with an introduction along the lines of Quint to the city counsel in Jaws. “You all know me, you all know what I do.”
In this case, I’m the guy who went out on a limb with the Planet Ocean as James Bond’s watch in Casino Royale. And, in the interests of full disclosure here, I need to acknowledge that as of today, the last official word from Omega SA (per its website and elsewhere) remains merely to acknowledge just one 007 watch for the film: Its venerable Seamaster, in trademark blue.
Yet we now have the November 2006 issue of Premiere featuring a cover shot of Daniel Craig so clearly into the James Bond 007 character that we not only have the tuxedo, but an additional shadow of his image behind with an assassin’s pistol.
As you can see in the close-up image on the watch at left, here, he’s clearly wearing the Omega Planet Ocean.
Again: Merely an oversight?
Inside, page 11 gives us another highly stylized studio photo of Mr. Craig in formal attire — with any possible view of his timepiece (if indeed he’s wearing one), wholly tucked away in his trouser pocket. Page 60 and a wardrobe change: No watch to be seen.
So I’m gonna say that the conspicuously placed Omega Planet Ocean in the cover shot is no accident. And when you add to this the fact that Omega SA bought the back cover of this issue to promote its latest James Bond Limited Edition Seamaster (model 2226.80, a/k/a 22268000), it’s hard for me to believe that the product placement folks from the watch supplier weren’t just as involved or more so in this cover shot, in addition to whatever input was forthcoming from the actor’s people, the producers, studio, and film distributors.
Last month, Daniel Craig made the cover of Esquire (in black and white, no doubt alluding to the controversial filming style purportedly used for the pre-title sequence in Casino Royale).
I don’t think we were supposed to see a watch in that photo, then. So we didn’t.
Timing is everything. Especially in the watch business.
With barely over a month now to go before Casino Royale opens in theaters, anticipate a Planet Ocean model from Omega SA to hit with it’s own “October surprise” here.
Comments