Advertisers are paying ABC the highest prices since 2008 for commercials during the network’s coverage of the Academy Awards. ABC, part of the Walt Disney Company, charged $1.65 million to $1.8 million for each 30 seconds of commercial time in the broadcast on Sunday; the rate five years ago was $1.7 million.
Demand was the strongest “in over a decade,” said Debbie Richman, senior vice president for prime-time ABC sales, with commercial time, “for all intents and purposes,” sold out.
Also, a recent trend of advertisers treating the Oscars like the Super Bowl — as a platform for prominent new ads that consumers will rave (or rant) about on social media like Facebook and Twitter — seems to be intensifying. Blue-chip brands like Chobani, Grey Poupon, Hyundai, Neutrogena and J. C. Penney plan to show new campaigns or new commercials in continuing campaigns.
“Consumers expect advertisers to come to the Oscars with their A-game,” said Andy McMillin, vice president for Coca-Cola trademark brands at the Coca-Cola North America Group, part of the Coca-Cola Company. For the Diet Coke brand, Mr. McMillin will introduce an American version of a commercial that has generated considerable attention since it was introduced in Europe last month.
The commercial is part of a series that features a “Diet Coke hunk,” which dates to 1994. The European version was created by BETC London, part of the Havas Creative division of Havas.
Perhaps comparisons to the Super Bowl ought not to be surprising because many advertisers consider the Academy Awards “the Super Bowl of the entertainment industry,” said Susan Sweet, general manager for Neutrogena, owned by Johnson Johnson.
A Neutrogena spot, by Roberts Langer in New York, part of the Omnicom Group, will be “the first time we’re showcasing our broad product portfolio in one commercial,” she said. The commercial, narrated by Jennifer Garner, presents a new brand theme, that Neutrogena is “recommended by dermatologists two times more than any other brand” of skin-care products.
The Oscars ceremony — broadcast live, like the Golden Globes, the Super Bowl, the Grammys, Nascar races and other so-called big-event television programs that are appointment viewing — is typically the highest-rated entertainment program on television.
Sports programs like the Super Bowl often draw larger audiences, enabling them to command higher ad rates. For instance, each 30-second spot during Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3 cost an estimated $3.7 million to $3.8 million.)
For many years, the Academy Awards was heralded as “the Super Bowl for women” until gains among female viewers put the Super Bowl ahead of the Oscars in total women watching. Still, the Academy Awards usually draws the most female viewers of any entertainment show.
“A good portion of our target is women,” said Michael Fischer, chief operating officer at Coldwell Banker Real Estate, which will advertise during the Oscars for the first time with a commercial, by Siltanen Partners in El Segundo, Calif., that is narrated by Tom Selleck.
The commercial offers “a heartfelt, emotional message,” Mr. Fischer said, so “the content fits with the show.” He said being an advertiser during the Academy Awards “helps us be out in front of the spring selling season,” a crucial period for a real-estate firm.
Another first-time advertiser, Chobani Greek yogurt, also likes what John Heath of Chobani called “the business timing” of the Oscars. A giant new Chobani plant in Twin Falls, Idaho, “went live in December, and we’re ready to assert ourselves a little more and drive awareness,” said Mr. Heath, senior vice president for innovation and interim chief marketing officer.
An extensive campaign for Chobani with a new theme, “Go real,” which is being created by the brand’s new agency, Boathouse in Boston, will begin with the Oscars. Because the show is an “uplifting, positive” environment in which to advertise, Mr. Heath said, the commercial during the show is “purposely a little more celebratory to fit with the context of the content.”
Other advertisers during the Oscars will include American Express, Ameriprise, Anheuser-Busch InBev, McDonald’s, Royal Caribbean International, Samsung Mobile, Sprint, the 20th Century Fox unit of News Corporation and the University of Phoenix.
Hyundai, sold by the Hyundai Motor America unit of the Hyundai Motor Group, is expected to run the most commercials during the Oscars, with seven. Hyundai is also the exclusive automotive sponsor, unlike the Super Bowl, when the brand shared the game with other car marques.
“One thing we like about the Academy Awards is that the vibe is different” from other television shows, said Steve Shannon, vice president for marketing at Hyundai Motor America. “There’s more glamour and style and sophistication.”
And because of the large number of affluent viewers for the Oscars, he added, “we can give a little extra attention to our luxury products” like Equus and Genesis.
The Hyundai agency, Innocean USA in Huntington Beach, Calif., part of Innocean Worldwide, is writing new scripts for three commercials that “give a nod to film history, film culture, film people,” Mr. Shannon said, including one for Equus that will spoof movie trailers.
Hyundai, possibly more than other advertisers, has standing to run such spots: the longtime narrator of its commercials is Jeff Bridges, who won an Oscar for best actor in 2010 for his performance in “Crazy Heart.”
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/business/media/oscars-broadcast-to-rival-super-bowl-as-ad-showcase.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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