James Bond is odd because of how brazen and normalised the product placement is. I can't think of any other film or tv show of the size where branded products are so central to the theme
I don't think the product placement in the books is like product placement in movies and TV today. The products were things that he liked (Rolex Oyster Perpetuals, "Sea Island" cotton shirts, getting your cigarettes made for you or smoking "Senior Service", eating scrambled eggs etc).
It only seems weird in retrospect now that it has become common.
It was a deliberate choice on his part. Specifically:
> ‘One of the reasons why I chose the pseudonym of James Bond for my hero rather than, say, Peregrine Maltravers was that I wished him to be unobtrusive. Exotic things would happen to and around him but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous blunt instrument wielded by a Government Department.
> ‘But to create an illusion of depth I had to fit Bond out with some theatrical props and, while I kept his wardrobe as discreet as his personality, I did equip him with a distinctive gun and, though they are a security hazard, with distinctive cigarettes. This latter touch of display unfortunately went to my head. I proceeded to invent a cocktail for Bond (which I sampled several months later and found unpalatable), and a rather precious though basically simple meal ordered by Bond proved so popular with my readers, still suffering from war-time restrictions, that expensive, though I think not ostentatious, meals have been eaten in subsequent books.
fair. I think I'm remembering the (HN classic) Fleming article about how to write exciting fiction. in it he suggests your main character having extra eggs with his meal
