Exclusive report: Hotel chain Best Western may face 007's scorn for mocking the spy

Hotel chain Best Western may be left shaken and stirred if their latest marketing campaign does not humour the intellectual property rights holders of the James Bond franchise.

MI6 has uncovered what appears to be an unlicensed use of the 007 trademarks in Best Western's current publicity stunt featuring a lookalike Daniel Craig. In the video, an actor with a resemblance to the current 007 shakes a cocktail behind the hotel bar and is later seen reading a newspaper whilst sitting on the toilet.

Click here to watch the "Daniel Craig" video on YouTube.

Brazen PR's campaign use of a peeping-tom's perspective is copy of artist Alison Jackson's obscured photographs of lookalikes recreating candid celebrity moments. Her work spawned the Bafta-winning BBC television show, Double Take.

Other celebrities mocked by the Best Western campaign include HRH Queen Elizabeth II, London Mayor Boris Johnson and football superstar David Beckham.

Best Western spokesman Tim Wade said: “We wanted to capture the imagination of guests and potential guests and we thought having a bit of fun with some very famous British premier celebrities would be just the ticket."

Whilst the use of lookalikes may dodge the scrutiny of advertising regulators, Best Western have splashed the official 007 logo on the front page of their website.

The advertisement for the video also features a silhouette image of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.



Danjaq, the holding company responsible for the copyright and trademarks to the characters, elements, and other material related to James Bond on screen, has been fierce in its protection of its intellectual property.

Best Western may find themselves at the wrong end of Bond's gun sight if their use of the 007 logo and imagery proves to be unlicensed. There is no reference to the copyright of the James Bond elements anywhere on the hotel's website or publicity materials.

Well-known brands have tried to garner publicity off the back of Bond in the past and come unstuck. Recent examples include French car-giant Peugeot, who originally launched their 1007 car model the pronunciation "one-double-oh-seven" and James Bond-style promotion, before revising their strategy under pressure from Danjaq.

Confectioner Cadbury India also came under the gun barrel sights for alleged copyright infringement. The Cadbury ad for 'Gems' displayed a boy dressed in a black suit holding a gun in a white circular background and said: “Cadbury’s Presents Gems Bond—Non stop excitement!”

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