• by March 14, 2001

By Adam Bernard

We're less than two weeks away from Oscar night, one of the highest rated programs of the year, and ABC is taking advantage of those historically high ratings.

ABC has raised the average price for a 30 second spot this year, which is now up at $1.4 million, a price that's still less than the Super Bowl, but more than, well, most everything else on TV.

As Pepsi's Dave DeCecco said, "The Academy Awards are usually one of the largest audiences, and a good slice of America," and it's that slice of America that makes the Academy Awards such an interesting choice for advertisers.

Unlike the Super Bowl, the Oscars have more of a varied audience. Last year's show pulled in a 29.2 household rating (48 share), and like most years, there were slightly more women watching than men. Women 25-54 scored a 24.9, while men of the same age only netted a 17.3, and the ratings were higher for women in every other age bracket.

With stats like these, it seems to make perfect sense for women's products companies to advertise during the show, but the price hike was detrimental to at least one such advertiser this year - Revlon, after 26 years of advertising during the Oscars, has dropped out.

Revlon spokesperson Liz Mather said of the decision, "The cost didn't reap the benefits we wanted." Last year the company cut down from their usual eight to two spots during the broadcast. This year, Revlon isn't going to be airing any ads during the show at all.

The Oscars have Revlon's dream targets watching, but Mather stuck by her statement that at the current price, it just wasn't going to be cost effective. She also added that Revlon had recently gone from in-house advertising to an outside advertising agency, and this move represents a shift in ad strategy based on management.

But the price didn't deter the regulars. Pepsi is a returning advertiser with exclusive rights, meaning they'll be the only soft drink advertised.

Pepsi has used the Oscars to launch campaigns in the past, and is going to do so again this year. Last year they launched the Faith Hill and Kiss "Joy of Cola" spots, and were very happy with the results, according to DeCecco. This year Pepsi bought three full minutes during the show, which they'll be using to launch their Britney Spears "Joy of Pepsi" campaign. DeCecco says they expect their main ad to be a 90 second spot that will resemble a music video.

DeCecco said Pepsi and the Oscars match up well, and the company enjoys their current relationship - a relationship he's reminded of every fall, in late September/early October, when renewal letters for incumbent advertisers are sent.

Other companies that are going to be advertising during the Oscars include American Express, McDonalds, Kodak, Yahoo!, Anheuser Busch, and Charles Schwab. In recent years, McDonalds and Anheuser Busch have advertised during the Super Bowl to reach their male targets, and American Express has used the NBA All-Star game for the