Academy to Allow Film Ads on Oscars

It was only a matter of time before the Oscars allowed movie advertising back into the awards telecast. The Academy understandably wanted to rule out any notion that movie studios were able to "influence" the awards, and for years did not allow any movie advertisements.

From Gregg Kilday of The Hollywood Reporter:

The opportunity to promote upcoming movies -- particularly summer tent-poles -- is sure to appeal to the studios, which already use the Super Bowl broadcast to unveil new ads. And just as there are viewers who watch the Super Bowl simply for those ads, previews of highly anticipated summer movies also could lure more eyeballs to the Oscarcast.

Of course, there are a number of carefully constructed rules to ensure an unbiased approach. Studios can't promote nominated movies (including any prequels or sequels), only one movie spot can air per commercial break, each spot can only promote one film at a time, and the spots cannot make any mention of the words "Oscar" or "Academy Award".

Seems a small price to pay to be able to promote films during the industry's biggest night.


(courtesy of Adweek)