COMING SOON TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU….

…but not to a boutique

Spectre, the 24th James Bond movie, must be one of the most hyped films ever. London went mad for it—every newspaper or magazine you opened had Daniel Craig staring back at you, looking stern. It took a record $80 million in its first week, making it the most financially successful film ever.

Congratulations to Premier Auto Services, who have the Land Rover and Jaguar franchise for Zimbabwe, and the British Embassy for getting the who’s who of Harare into black tie for a bling premier at Sam Levy’s Village.

Thumbs down to the retail outlets there for ignoring one of the marketing phenomena of the year. Not a single store offering a dinner suit styled to suit James Bond, no boutiques hyping the allure of the older woman. We know from the Graham Norton show, beamed into your very own living room, that the value of the product placement in the movie is phenomenal—and a closely guarded secret. James, as we all know, drives an Aston Martin, made in the same country as the Premier autos.

But anyone can link up with the title and use that adspend to boost sales, as this leather goods’ shop in London’s Bond Street cleverly did.

HARARE - It was all glitz and glamour when prominent business people, politicians, motor enthusiasts and showbiz entrepreneurs gathered at Ster-Kinekor, Sam Levy Village in Borrowdale on Wednesday night to watch the latest James Bond movie -Spectre.

The black-tie event, organised by Premier Auto Service and the British Embassy in Zimbabwe, had all the ingredients of a dream premiere with guests walking on a red carpet and being treated to a cocktail before the movie was shown.

In addition to the dinner cocktail, guests were also given a packet of popcorn, a soft drink and mineral water to go with the movie.

Premier Auto Services, which has a Jaguar-Land Rover dealership, wanted guests to have a feel of two of their cars - Range Rover Sport SVR, Defender and Jaguar C-X75 - that feature in the block buster movie.

The movie revolves around James Bond (Daniel Craig) who receives a cryptic message that eventually makes him travel to Mexico City and Rome, where he meets a beautiful widow of an infamous criminal - Monica Bellucci.

After infiltrating a secret meeting, Bond uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation Spectre. The rest is hours of powerful action that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

The 24th James Bond movie, released early this month, opened to a record-smashing $80 million across the world in its first week of showing.