James Bond is an iconic British global brand. So we have been keen to associate ourselves with it as part of our Public Diplomacy activities. Over the last week, we have hosted very successful Skyfall screenings and networking events in five Australian cities (Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth), together with commercial partners including Virgin, HSBC, Diageo and Visit Britain.
I took the opportunity to explain that the James Bond franchise was in fact an allegory with important messages about the UK:
- Like Bond, the UK was constantly renewing itself to remain relevant
- Also, like Bond, we were actively engaged wherever the action was around the world
- As Miss Moneypenny’s name made clear, we were not part of the Eurozone (though we remained a key member of the EU, the world’s largest single market)
- Q was a symbol of UK innovation and R&D strengths: no doubt he was a graduate of one of the four UK universities in the world top ten.
- Our readiness to embrace Australian actor George Lazenby as an early Bond, was a sign of the extraordinary affection Brits felt towards Australia.
Feedback from our guests, from business, government and the media was hugely positive. Some congratulated us on our use of “soft power” diplomacy. The Canberra Times wrote a nice article.