Royal Philips Electronics has said that it is joining with MGM Pictures and EON Productions to promote the 20th James Bond adventure, Die Another Day, scheduled to be released in December 2002. While details of Philips appearances in the film are being kept top secret prior to the film's release, it can be reasonably expected that Philips will be providing James Bond with a cellphone as a result of this agreement. Ericsson scored a substantial PR coup when an imaginary JB988 cellphone was featured in the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies". Ericsson however, didn't fully exploit the opportunity by releasing a conventional GSM handset in the same design. When Nokia got a modified 8110 into The Matrix, consumer demand for the handset (which was often misreported as a 7110) soared, even though the handset had been discontinued at least a year before the film was released.
"When we were trying to imagine an icon that personifies the marriage of design and technology innovation at Philips, James Bond was the natural choice," gushed Ad Veenhof, member of Philips' Group Management Committee. "The Bond phenomenon has huge popular appeal all over the world and we're confident that this partnership with MGM and EON will provide a meaningful way for the company to reach its existing customers and attract new audiences to Philips."
Die Another Day is the 20th film in the James Bond series. The film will be released during the 2002 holiday season in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of 007's first screen appearance in Dr. No.'"
Posted to the site on 3rd April 2002
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