The Oscars: It's not just about the stars

The Academy Awards is not only a big deal for Hollywood, but also for the advertising industry. The long time Oscar network, ABC, has already sold all the commercial spots that are set to run during the show. ABC charged the companies an estimated $1.7 million for each 30 seconds of commercial time. The big spenders this year were AT&T, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Eastman Kodak, MasterCard, General Motors, McDonald’s, J.C. Penny, Unilever and Microsoft. Since the Oscar’s are the second most highly watched television event after the Super Bowl, it gives high-end companies the chance to promote its brands. “It’s about being in front of as many people as we can. Just like the Super Bowl, the Oscars are a highly rated show so it has the reach,” said Cynthia McIntyre, senior director-advertising at CareerBuilder. The Oscars can be considered as “one of the premier television events for advertisers.” According to Nielsen Media Research, the average ratings for the show range from 30 to 40 million viewers. The advertisers are not only interested in the numbers, but also with the fact that a good amount of viewers are people with incomes of $100,000 or more. TNS data found that viewers are exposed to about 11-12 minutes of ads per hour during the Academy Awards shows since 2003.

With the amount of attention the Oscars receive, no wonder blue-chip companies are willing to buy ridiculously expensive spots for its ads. Several companies such as Coca-Cola, General Motors and Dove have decided to showcase new campaign slogans and brand images. Coca-Cola, for instance, is introducing a campaign for Diet Coke from the brand’s new agency, Wieden & Kennedy. Diet Coke has for a long time been associated with entertainment and celebrities. “That’s a very important place for our marketing mix for big-event television. Especially for Diet Coke, it makes all the sense in the world,” said Katie J. Bayne, senior vice president for Coca-Cola brands in North America. General Motors is also taking the opportunity to introduce new work which includes running commercials for Saturn, Cadillac and G.M.’s corporate image. Dove decided to take a strategic approach and have the general public compete in an online contest which asked women to create a commercial for its new product, Dove Cream Oil Body Wash. According to Kathy O’Brien, Dove received well over 1,000 entries for the contest. Although companies may receive plenty of publicity, it is also important that its advertisement satisfy the millions of viewers. “For the Academy Awards, everybody’s at their best, and it has to be your brand at its best,” said Joyce King Thomas, executive vice president and chief creative officer at the MasterCard agency.

As an avid Oscar watcher, paying attention to what the stars are wearing and personally critiquing acceptance speeches was and is a priority for me. Reese Witherspoon, pictured left, won Best Actress in "Walk the Line" in 2006. The Oscars is a chance for top celebrities and industry executives to get credit for their work. It is also a chance for the general public to gawk at their favorite stars on the red carpet. It seems that the whole glitz and glamour portion of the ceremony became the most important to viewers, but as a PR major with an emphasis in entertainment, I am at an advantage when it comes to looking at certain events at all angles. It is easier for me at least, to point out publicity stunts compared to a well thought out event. The companies who do get a spot for their ads understand that big spending is well worth it when there is a great increase in consumer purchases. However, over analyzing Coca-Cola’s ads can be quite daunting that is why taking time to watch Johnny Depp in a pin stripe suit couldn’t hurt anyone.