Three Things to Know About the Oscars

What started out as a simple honor by peers has evolved into a full-blown marketing machine. The Academy Awards served as the pinnacle of an entire awards season, which includes an army of agents campaigning for their clients and films. But that’s just where the marketing and PR comes in. It can be seen everywhere, from little-known designers making a name for themselves on the red carpet to last year’s Best Picture snafu that put crisis management front and center. Below are a few ways companies and firms got in on the biggest awards show in Hollywood.

  • It’s all About the Ads – ABC sold out its ad space for this year’s telecast in record time (two weeks ahead of show time). Movies, it seems, cross all boundaries of demographics and products, as the lineup of sponsors and advertisers included Google, Rolex, Disney, Nike, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, and bubly, a new sparkling water from PepsicCo.
  • A Timeless Greenroom – While front row seats to the show may seem to be the place to be, most stars would probably rather be lounging in the event Greenroom, which was designed by Rolex for the third year in a row. This year’s theme was a chic Swiss Alps chalet complete with virtual windows looking out onto the Matterhorn.
  • Winning Isn’t Everything – Yes it’s an honor to even be nominated, but the real perk of being up for the award may be the goodie bag that comes with it. This year all the (major) nominees will receive a gift bag worth upwards of $100,000. The bags are actually supplied by Distinctive Assets, a Los Angeles-based marketing company that’s been giving the bags for 16 years. There’s no official affiliation or agreement with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a lawsuit settled in 2016 resulted in an amicable agreement between the Academy and Distinctive Assets. This year the bags include trips Zanzibar, Hawaii, and Greece, spa treatments, a DNA testing kit, personal training sessions, chocolate, and fake eyelashes.