Some of the world’s biggest logistics players are touting their links to the new James Bond film, hitting U.S. theaters Friday, even as they invest in new assets to support the sector’s unprecedented straits.
Boeing and CMA CGM Group, one of the largest global shipping and logistics companies, announced the purchase of two new Boeing 777 Freighters to grow the company’s air freight division operations.
CMA CGM Group launched its dedicated air freight division, CMA CGM Air Cargo, in February, beginning commercial operations in March with its first flight between Liege, Belgium, and Chicago, followed by flights to New York, Atlanta and Dubai.
The Boeing 777 will provide CMA CGM Air Cargo the flexibility to operate the airplane across its growing air freight network while helping to deliver on its sustainability objectives as it pursues its commitment to offer its customers a complete range of transportation and logistics solutions. The 777 Freighter is the world’s largest and longest-range twin-engine freighter. With a range of 9,200 kilometers, the 777 Freighter can carry a maximum payload of 102 tons, allowing CMA CGM Air Cargo to make fewer stops and reduce landing fees on long-haul routes.
The 777 Freighter is Boeing’s top-selling freighter of all time. Customers from around the world have ordered 272 of the 777 Freighters since the program began in 2005.
The CMA CGM Group’s 542 containerships serve more than 420 ports around the world and transported nearly 21 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units) containers in 2020. With its logistics arm, CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM handles 400,000 tons of airfreight and 2.8 million tons of inland freight every year.
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Meanwhile, as an official partner of the 25th James Bond film, “No Time To Die,” CMA CGM granted filmmakers EON Productions unprecedented access to Kingston Container Terminal in Jamaica to shoot an action sequence with a seaplane, and the vessel CMA CGM Fort Saint Georges features in the film when Bond is rescued from the ocean.
CMA CGM ships, crew members and 1,000 shipping containers were used for filming, which took place at the CMA CGM-operated Kingston South Quay Terminal in Jamaica, a strategic transhipment hub in the Caribbean, located at the exit of the Panama Canal and the crossroads of the North-South and East-West lines.
Flying the French flag and under the leadership of French Masters, the vessels CMA CGM Fort Saint Georges (2,260 TEUs) and CMA CGM Fort De France (3,504 TEUs), along with a dozen crew members, took part in the filming.
Fellow logistics giant DHL also has a role in the new film. DHL launched a new campaign featuring a TV commercial that pays homage to the iconic film franchise, marking the fifth time DHL has provided the transport and logistics solutions to James Bond.
“We are incredibly proud of the support DHL has provided the last five James Bond films,” Monika Schaller, DHL’s executive vice president of corporate communications, sustainability and brand, said. “To pull off a feat of this magnitude requires the collective effort and orchestration of our international DHL network and its respective teams. The campaign is quintessentially Bond, with high energy and tongue in cheek humor, all while remaining firmly in the DHL world. The message is that DHL is the logistics partner you can rely on even if the mission is unusual or complex.”
To create a TV commercial that contained the same levels of intrigue and excitement as a Bond car chase, the team chosen to create, orchestrate and deliver it were essential. The commercial features the iconic Aston Martin DB5 driven by Bond stunt driver Ben Collins, who worked alongside “No Time To Die” assistant stunt coordinator Pete White. Shot by award-winning director Adam Berg at Smuggler, the ad also boasts the film’s director of photography, Linus Sandgren. The creative concept was developed by DHL’s lead agency 180 Amsterdam.
Set in Shanghai, the ad follows a DHL courier as he sets out to deliver a vital package to Bond. As he arrives at the assigned location to meet Bond, the handover is interrupted and a high-speed car chase ensues. As 007 is pursued through the streets, the courier avoids the chaos to deliver the package to an updated delivery address, safely and efficiently.
In addition to the TV spot, the campaign will be aired internationally across all digital channels, both in the form of digital banners and video, as well as print ads.