JAMES BOND FACT FILES

Following the spectacular global success of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), director Lewis Gilbert's over-the-top tongue-in-cheek style was followed up by an equally lavish production that would take James Bond into outer space. For Your Eyes Only had been announced as the next film in the end credits of The Spy Who Loved Me, but in the wake of the popularity and box-office success of Star Wars (1977), United Artists (and every other Hollywood studio) pushed forward with their own space-themed epic. The only Ian Fleming title left to use that was even remotely suitable was Moonraker, and screenwriter Christopher Wood ultimately came up with an original storyline for Roger Moore's fourth 007 adventure. With the films now aimed at a more juvenile audience, several of the tie-ins and promotions for Moonraker (1979) were more naturally targeted at this demographic.

Newspaper composite pages featuring tie-ins with local traders still proved popular in the late 1970s as an easy way for towns and cities to promote Moonraker linked with clever advertisements for retailers and service providers. Often with dubious connections to the space-themed content of the film - even travel agents had to admit they were not yet ready to offer holidays in outer space! A page heading block featuring Daniel Goozee's teaser artwork of a space suited Roger Moore was advertised in the Exhibitors’ Campaign Book.

Screenwriter Christopher Wood wrote a novelization of his screenplay for Moonraker (1979) that was once again published in hardback by Jonathan Cape (although not featured in the Campaign Book), and a paperback edition from Triad/Panther. The paperback featured Daniel Goozee's superb teaser poster artwork for Moonraker (1979), and the book was heavily promoted upon its release in June 1979. British retailer W. H. Smith promoted the paperback as one of their “Top Ten” titles with a national press campaign in newspapers and magazines including Radio Times. The advertisement featured a stylized illustration of Richard Kiel as Jaws taking a bite out of the paperback cover!

Following their highly successful campaign for The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Seiko launched another major nationwide promotional campaign to tie in with Moonraker (1979). A newspaper competition with prizes of of Seiko Digital watches for men and woman were on offer for simply matching the names of ten actresses to the James Bond film in which they appeared. Seiko Time (UK) Ltd, also produced a marketing booklet and point-of-sale materials for cinemas and shop window displays. A Seiko style quad-crown poster was also available for display in ODEON and Rank Organisation cinemas who ran a different competition [pictured below] with similar prizes on offer, for entrants correctly determining the order in which seven scenes illustrated actually appeared in Moonraker (1979). The entry form featured a full colour film poster on the front, and a publicity still of Roger Moore wearing a Seiko watch on the reverse.

Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. once again issued two new die cast models to tie in with the release of Moonraker (1979). CORGI looked to the film title itself and released a Moonraker Space Shuttle with retractable undercarriage and opening cargo bay doors. The shuttle was accompanied by a red and gold satellite with folding solar panels, which could be housed within the model. Joining the Moonraker Space Shuttle in 1979 was the Drax Jet Ranger. This model was the same as the Stromberg Helicopter released two years earlier, but with a new colour scheme and decals. The 1979 edition still retained the firing rockets, although this feature did not appear on the helicopter seen in the film Moonraker (1979).

CORGI simultaneously released two smaller versions of the models which retailed at 52p each. The smaller version of the Shuttle was later released several times in different packaging, eventually losing all reference to the film Moonraker itself (although keeping the Drax decals). The same model with different decals was released as a NASA Shuttle, and again in 1981 to accompany a Blake's 7 Star Ship ‘Liberator’ model. The smaller edition of the Moonraker space Shuttle retained its retractable undercarriage and opening cargo doors to reveal the fixed payload. These features were the same on all editions of the shuttle.

Another version of the Moonraker Space Shuttle was issued by AIRFIX as a 92-part model kit. The company produced posters and point-of-sale materials, with full-page advertisements in popular children's comics. AIRFIX also offered six regional prizes for cinema managers who, jointly with a local AIRFIX stockist arranged the best space display featuring the Moonraker kit and film.

For the first time in over a decade, World Distributors Ltd. published a hardcover James Bond annual and advertised as a ‘Moonraker Special’, although there were stories and stills from earlier films in the series. The 64-page annual went on sale in August 1979 as Moonraker was on general release across the UK.

Although featured, but not illustrated in the Exhibitors’ Campaign Book, a 20-page full colour brochure was produced by Fenited Publishing Corp., and on sale in cinema foyers for 60p.

Also available in cinema foyers were Moonraker T-Shirts [not pictured] and metal badges. The set of four colourful badges were printed on high quality reflective prismatic material.

Lone Star - a company who had been manufacturing licenced James Bond products since 1965 - produced their first original toy directly based on a prop featured in Moonraker. Previous toys had all been repurposed and manufactured to tie-in with any number of films or TV shows. The Moonraker Space Gun was a die-cast metal and plastic toy designed as a 100 shot cap-repeater. Available from August 1979 the toy had a very short shelf-life as it could not be repackaged for later release, as earlier toy guns and accessories had been.

Another product marketed to coincide with the release of Moonraker was “James Bond 007 Bubble Bath”. Packaged with a reproduction of the Robert McGinnis artwork featured in the advertising campaigns of Live And Let Die (1973) and The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), the box also showed the Drax Space Station from Moonraker (1979) and Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The crudely moulded plastic bottle bore little resemblance to Roger Moore!

Also aimed at a younger audience but not advertised in the Exhibitors’ Campaign Book were “James Bond 007 Sweet Cigarettes” produced by Alma Confectionery Limited of Fife, Scotland. [pictured above right] No doubt frowned upon today, sweet cigarettes had been on sale in the UK since the 1950s. Although the small white candy stick with a red coloured tip looked nothing like a real cigarette, children of the of the time could pretend they were smoking, and no doubt emulate their parents or film and TV heroes! The small box contained ten cigarettes and a card (rather like the trading cards of the 1960s) depicting a full colour still from Moonraker. There was only one card contained in each pack, and with a price of six pence per box, it would take many purchases to obtain a full set of 48. The reverse of each card contained a short text description of the picture in the front.

Another product curiously not featured in the Campaign Book was a set of View-Master reels featuring 21 3-dimentional colour images from Moonraker (1979). Similar to the Live And Let Die set released in 1973, although several of the Moonraker images were further enhanced by the addition of a second inset image within the frame. Both sets were available in similar packaging with text translated for different territories.

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