Movie Studios Slow To Advertise On Oscars

The SoloistIt has been three years since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences permitted movie marketers to buy commercial time on ABC's Oscar broadcast. Yet media deals for films still aren't as strong as one might expect for a major show whose viewers love movies.

Speaking with Media Daily News during Variety's film marketing event this week, Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, believes there could be more film commercials in the Oscars show.

"It has been OK," says Sherak. "I'd love more."

Typically, just a handful of films have used the biggest TV shows of the year to sell their lineups. Some believe the show is a perfect place to sell theatrical movies to moviegoers.

AMPAS is one of the only TV producers that get the final say on who advertises in the show -- although Sherak insists it is more of a conversation with ABC, the network that has aired the show for decades.

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Since AMPAS made the decision in October 2008, a small selection of movies have been marketed on the Oscars winter/spring show -- in part because of the hefty cost, timing and particularly the show's key viewers. There were two movies in 2009, the first year the changes took effect; three movies in 2010; and four films for this February's past show.

The "Academy Awards" -- called the "Super Bowl for Women" for some TV marketers -- has a high price tag of $1.6 million to $1.7 million for a 30-second spot. But unlike the Super Bowl, which caters to a broad audience -- and can pull in potentially larger-grossing summer blockbuster titles -- the Oscars yield lots of women viewers, particularly older women.

That puts the focus on mid-size to smaller box-office adult-themed movies. Some movies advertised in the Oscars include CBS Films "The Back-Up Plan" and Paramount Pictures' "The Soloist."

Admittedly, Sherak says the rules were too strict at first.

Movies had to be new -- not a sequel. Commercials needed to run shorter in-theater trailers -- either a 30-second or 60-second spot. Only one film per studio was allowed. And only one movie spot could be scheduled in a commercial break.

Perhaps the key restriction -- a movie could only open two months after the Oscar broadcast.

Rules were set to avoid the appearance of any impropriety -- to assure viewers that marketers would not be affecting award results. Changes were made in the second year when AMPAS eliminated the two-month delay, allowing a movie marketer to open a movie immediately after "The Academy Awards."

All that hasn't opened up the floodgates for a show that can run three-hours plus.

But as far as other marketers are concerned, Sherak says the Academy will continue to discourage any creative in commercials that doesn't meet its standards. One recent Oscar kibosh, says Sherak, was an adult diaper Depends commercial.

"You are never going to see something that is going to be objectionable to an Academy [Awards] audience," he says.

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