Michael Rosser, the news editor at Screen magazine, doesn’t think so. “Money in film is not what it was,” says Rosser. “The home entertainment market is in decline, so there has to be other ways to make money from movies, and product placement is really a big part of that. In an ideal world, sure, you wouldn’t have it. But, realistically, if you want a Bond movie that’s as spectacular as we’ve come to expect, then it can’t be made on goodwill.”

Indeed, Spectre is reported to have a budget of well over $300 million (£198 million), making it the most expensive Bond movie so far – and the film’s marketing is set to cost a similar amount. “If it takes product placement to generate that money,” says Rosser, “then so be it. I’d rather have a two-hour Bond movie with 30 seconds of ads in the middle of it than no Bond movie at all.”

Making a killing

Daniel Craig said as much when he was making Skyfall in 2012. “The simple fact is that, without [product placement], we couldn’t do it,” he commented. “It’s unfortunate but that’s how it is.” And yet Skyfall went onto rake in $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office, against a budget of under $200 million. Surely such a staggeringly lucrative film shouldn’t have to advertise beer and watches to make ends meet.