The 77th Academy Awards ceremony will air on ABC this Sunday, February 27 at 8:30 p.m. EST. The network was just given rights to run the show through 2014.
First-time host Chris Rock may provide the only shocks, ABC insiders say. Or perhaps one of the presenters--scheduled to include the likes of Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Martin Scorsese, Salma Hayek, and Tim Robbins--may spark a moment of spontaneity. But ABC, which has sold out its Oscar ad time at $1.6 million per :30, is certain that ads from such marketers as Anheuser-Busch, American Express, CareerBuilder.com, L'Oreal USA, and JCPenney won't cause a fuss with the audience of the Federal Communications Commission.
ABC has a long-standing policy with its advertisers, which stipulates that "ads must be appropriate to the overall image and dignity of the Academy Awards."
advertisement
advertisement