• by Fern Siegel , March 14, 2023

What’s better than a mockumentary?

The three-part ad debuted at the Academy Awards to promote for Autodesk.

The full spot for the film software was posited as a tribute to an icon filmmaker, Otto Desc, with shout-outs by actor-director Elizabeth Banks (“Cocaine Bear”), actor Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”), Oscar-winning VFX supervisor, Paul Lambert, cinematographer Mandy Walker (“Elvis”).

“Autodesk has been a secret weapon for Hollywood’s artists for decades, and what better way to highlight that than to create a fake man of vaguely Germanic descent to receive an award that doesn’t exist?” said Reynolds. “Also if you’re thinking Otto Des looks suspiciously like Academy Award nominee and Free Guy VFX Supe Swen Gillberg, you’d be wrong.”

The work, from Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort, which takes tongue-in-cheek branding approaches. Kimmelot coordinated the partnership between Maximum Effort and the Oscars, since Jimmy Kimmel hosted. Kimmelot, is Jimmy Kimmel’s creative lab. 

“Autodesk is how the world gets designed and made — including the beautiful films that delight and inspire us all. The Oscars are a night to celebrate the biggest names in Hollywood, so we’re thrilled to celebrate the design and technology from Autodesk that makes this magic possible in such a fun and creative way." said Dara Treseder, Chief Marketing Officer, Autodesk.

"And with this campaign, we’re re-introducing our inspiring company tagline -- two words that effectively say it all: make anything.”

Autodesk was one of five participating brands in the #WalkingDeadvertising campaign alongside Deloitte, DoorDash, MNTN and Ring.