Is Daniel Craig Trolling Us With His “Cool” New Look?
In a new ad for Belvedere Vodka, the British actor tries to appear as a man finally set free
You are reading The Mandate / Hot takes on topics that men don’t like to talk about / Written by LA-Based Writer, Cultural Strategist, and Olympic Medalist Jason Rogers
Actors are shapeshifters. That’s their job, and it’s a job I don’t envy. Of course, they have to assume a new role each time they take on a new project. But they also must remain relevant to the broader public to be competitive for meaty roles. They have to stay ahead of the reaper that is cultural irrelevance. This is why they are constantly reinventing their persona when they are not on set.
Daniel Craig is the latest example of this kind of image management. He just starred in a recent Taika-Waititi-directed ad for Belevedere Vodka, which plays on the trope of celebrities dancing with reckless abandon. It’s visually reminiscent of the Christopher Walken Fatboy Slim music video and Margaret Qualley ad for the fashion brand Kenzo. Both were directed by Spike Jonze.
The Belvedere spot begins with Craig dressed in a white tux, signaling his past life as James Bond. Paparazzi surround him, but he manages to escape by slipping into a sleek Rolls Royce. Then, he immediately emerges from the other door looking like an entirely new vision of himself. He’s ditched the stiff attire for an all-black, tank-top, leather jacket, and jeans. He wears a stylish link chain around his neck.
He shimmies his way down the streets of Paris, looking like a man without a care in the world. Then he arrives at the Cheval Blanc Hotel and suffice it to say that, for the next thirty seconds, much dancing ensues. His body moves in ways we’ve never expected from a man so good at beating up bad guys. There’s sensuality in his gestures. There’s lots of lip-pouting. At one point, he humps the air.
Ultimately he arrives in his hotel room, where he opens a cabinet to reveal a glowing bottle of Belvedere. He pours himself a glass on the rocks and gazes directly into the camera and says, “Finally” before taking a long-desired sip.
That line is working on a few levels of meaning, so let’s quickly break them down.
On a literal story level, “finally” means: After a long day of work, I finally get to have that drink.
On a product brand level, “finally” means: At long last, James Bond finally gets to have Belvedere on the rocks instead of a fussy martini with Smirnoff.
On Craig’s personal brand level, “finally” means: I spent all those years as 007, and now I can finally be myself.
At first glance, the whole thing seems like a pretty direct play to make Daniel Craig look cool. In the accompanying print ad (shot by the famed photographer Jurgen Teller), he grips the Belvedere bottle wearing stylish rings. His grey hair is flecked with brown highlights. We see little tattoos we never knew he had. The whole campaign says, Yea, I’m a bit older, but I have the youthful spirit to pull this off.
But does he pull it off? Even with some charitable edits between scenes, his dancing style feels a little strange to me, certainly not as fluid as when he’s tossing guys across the room. It reminded me of a TikTok I’d seen of another British Actor, Jason Statham, whose social media team clearly put a gun to his head and said, “dance!”
Also, the wardrobe choices are off. Paparazzi shots of Craig suggest that his wardrobe is pretty tame. He seems to favor outdoor wear and dad hats or, in colder weather, a version of Marlybone chic. By contrast, the Belvedere ad’s styling felt more like an eccentric British gangster or a creepy older guy that hits on young women at bars.
Some of the other articles about this ad suggested that we were seeing a new “silly” or “fabulously flamboyant” side to Craig. The latter description is interesting because, last year, he caused a bit of media uproar when he was spotted at a gay bay carousing with a male friend. His response, however, was excellent: I go to gay bars because they are where I don’t get into fights.
I think the whole gag reveals itself at the end when we hear Waititi call “Cut.” The camera turns and the director appears in the frame as he says, “Let’s go again, just be yourself.” It’s an interesting choice of words because, it’s meant to be a director’s note — as if Craig was trying too hard on the last take. That is, this new role as an ever-cool, iconic actor is weird and quite difficult for him.
Then we see Craig smile at the camera, showing off a silver tooth cap with the initials “DC.” This is the moment when the ad jumps the shark. There’s no way Craig would ever wear that IRL, and I interpret the frame as the magician showing the audience he’s got a card up his sleeve.
It’s all very meta — specifically metamodern — in that Craig is playing an exaggerated version of what we expect an actor would want to look like if he was reinventing himself after such an iconically British role. It reminded me of Keanu Reeves playing himself in the comedy Always Be My Maybe. Keanu was trolling the people who think that he’s a nightmare off-screen by leaning hard into that idea.
Waititi also performs the exact same trick. The long version of the ad includes out-takes of the director drinking espresso and smacking away sushi being fed to him by an aide. Both Waititi and Craig are chameleons constantly changing their colors, and we’re supposed to simultaneously think that they both take themselves seriously but also not at all.
For Craig, the message is: if you thought I was already cool, now you’re going to think I’m cooler. If you thought I was secretly gay, now you’ll probably double down on that opinion. If you didn’t think I was cool, this is going to make me look like a try-hard. Effectively, think whatever the hell you want because I don’t really care. And that’s pretty cool, after all.
Is Daniel Craig Trolling Us With His “Cool” New Look?
I love reading your articles whenever they come out; and I really liked this commercial too, so thanks for taking the time to write about it because I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. I also liked his dancing too ;)