Bond boosting Bollinger sales in Asia

Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
edited March 2012 in News Posts: 13,350
“They go crazy for Bond in Asia, which is really helping with brand recognition and giving our sales a boost,” Bollinger president Jérôme Philipon told the drinks business.

“I didn’t appreciate how powerful the Bond brand was for Bollinger in Asia until I saw it. There’s so much hype surrounding the new film Sky Fall out there already,” Philipon added.

Bollinger has collaborated with the Broccoli family – owners and producers of the James Bond films – for 37 years, in the longest standing relationship between a film series and a brand.

“They originally came to us as they wanted to feature the most British of Champagnes in the film, and we have a big connection to the UK, being the first Champagne to be given the Royal Warrant,” Philipon said.

He revealed the brand “hadn’t paid a penny” for it to be featured in the Bond films, but was lucky enough to have an incredibly strong relationship with the Broccoli family.

“Brands like Sony, Coca-Cola and Jaguar are spending millions to appear in the film, but we’ve never exchanged a single euro. Two of the top Champagne houses have offered huge sums to be the Champagne of choice in the films, but the family hasn’t accepted their offers,” he said.

Having appeared in Casino Royale, Philipon confirmed to db that Bordeaux premier grand cru classé, Château Angélus, will not be appearing in the forthcoming film.

“We had the meeting last week of all the brands involved in the film and Angélus owner Hubert de Bouard was not present,” he said.

Philipon admitted he is keen to do more with the Bond association, due to its positive impact on the brand.

“We’ve got a couple of limited edition Bond-branded bottlings that we’re going to launch in October to coincide with the Sky Fall premier, but I’m sworn to secrecy on the details at the moment,” he said.

Directed by Sam Mendes, Sky Fall will have its world premiere in London on 26 October. In addition to Daniel Craig in the role of Bond, it also stars Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judy Dench and Helen McCrory.

Outside of Bond, Bollinger is keen to step up its presence as the pouring Champagne at other movie premieres, and will be working with premieres in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East in the coming year.

The house is also nurturing a number of grape varieties permitted in Champagne that have been abandoned.

An experimental plot adjacent to the prestigious Terre Chaud Vieilles Vignes vineyard in Aÿ is planted with Savagnin, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, Gamay, Arbanne and the red-fleshed Pinot Teinturier.

“I’m really proud of what we’re doing with these plantings. We want to make the most of our terroir and experiment with all the different grapes and see what works,” Mentzendorff’s marketing and wine director Elizabeth Ferguson told db.

“These varieties were rejected and abandoned in the Champagne region over time, but with the threat of global warming, the high acid varieties might become a vital component in the blend in the coming years,” Ferguson added.

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2012/03/175788/

Comments

  • Posts: 2,594
    Bring back Dom Perignon for Skyfall! The only champagne brands I'd like to see in the Bond films are the ones that are in the Fleming books. I can't remember if Bollinger is in the books but it has been in the films since FYEO (1981) I think, so I've always accepted this. I'm pretty sure Moonraker was the last Bond flick to feature Dom Perignon.
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 108
    You do know that the front page article displays quite a bit of Red Grant style ignorance?
    When the original article that the MI6 report is based on says, “Having appeared in Casino Royale, Philipon confirmed to db that Bordeaux premier grand cru classé, Château Angélus, will not be appearing in the forthcoming film”
    They are talking about the Claret that Bond drinks on the train, and NOT Bollinger
    Champagne.

    Skyfall will feature Bollinger - Hence Bollinger president Jérôme Philipon presence at the meeting for brands that will appear in the film.
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    Bounine wrote:
    Bring back Dom Perignon for Skyfall! The only champagne brands I'd like to see in the Bond films are the ones that are in the Fleming books. I can't remember if Bollinger is in the books but it has been in the films since FYEO (1981) I think, so I've always accepted this. I'm pretty sure Moonraker was the last Bond flick to feature Dom Perignon.

    If I remember correctly Bond's favourite champagne was actually Taittinger, I remember reading him saying it was superior to Dom Perignon, but don't remember which of the books. But Bollinger is very, very good B-) so I'm ok with it showing up again.
  • Posts: 62
    You do know that the front page article displays quite a bit of Red Grant style ignorance?
    When the original article that the MI6 report is based on says, “Having appeared in Casino Royale, Philipon confirmed to db that Bordeaux premier grand cru classé, Château Angélus, will not be appearing in the forthcoming film”
    They are talking about the Claret that Bond drinks on the train, and NOT Bollinger
    Champagne.

    Skyfall will feature Bollinger - Hence Bollinger president Jérôme Philipon presence at the meeting for brands that will appear in the film.

    Exactly!
  • Posts: 2,594
    Sandy wrote:
    Bounine wrote:
    Bring back Dom Perignon for Skyfall! The only champagne brands I'd like to see in the Bond films are the ones that are in the Fleming books. I can't remember if Bollinger is in the books but it has been in the films since FYEO (1981) I think, so I've always accepted this. I'm pretty sure Moonraker was the last Bond flick to feature Dom Perignon.


    If I remember correctly Bond's favourite champagne was actually Taittinger, I remember reading him saying it was superior to Dom Perignon, but don't remember which of the books. But Bollinger is very, very good B-) so I'm ok with it showing up again.

    Yes, I certainly remember Tattinger being drunk in the books. Bollinger is a nice champagne, yes. Goes down smooth... :)

  • Posts: 638
    Honestly, as a professional working Sommelier, I would drink both Taittinger and Bollinger over Dom Perignon any day.
  • Posts: 2,594
    I can't remember if I've had Dom Perignon or not. I'd be interested to hear your views Jaguar as to why you think Taittinger and Bollinger are better than Dom Perignon.
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