By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
NEW YORK -- And the Oscar goes to . . . Anheuser-Busch?
Not likely. But A-B will be the first beer company to show its short films -- otherwise known as commercials -- on the Academy Awards, says Mike Shaw, ABC's president of network sales and marketing. ABC will air the 73rd edition of the annual awards on March 25.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif., the Oscar giver, has kept tight control over who's an Oscar sponsor. Certain product categories have been forbidden for image concerns, among them feminine hygiene products, any movie and, yes, beer.
As a result, consumers usually see the same corps of sponsors every year. But A-B's ability to crash this club underlines how a faltering ad market can bend rules, even for advertising's "Super Bowl for women". The major TV event drew 46 million viewers last year, and its audience runs roughly 60% female.
But troubled Revlon, a sponsor for 26 years, dropped out, leaving ABC with commercial time when it's usually sold out, Shaw says.
"The premium you pay to be on the show is not giving us the benefits we need," says Liz Mather of Revlon.
And Merrill Lynch is out. It ran two spots last year. Enter A-B. The Academy was persuaded by the company's ads in recent big events, Shaw says. "They love the humor, particularly the (spots) on the Super Bowl." The brewer bought three 30-second slots, says Tony Ponturo, A-B's vice president of media and sports marketing. "It's a credit to our creative work."
And Ponturo says that A-B's entrance has nothing to do with weakening demand for ads. "The Academy would not have done it for that reason," he says. "If there was softness for one year they wouldn't change their philosophy."
The ad cast on ABC, which has broadcast the Oscars since 1976, will have two other fresh faces: Hewlett-Packard and Yahoo. H-P has two slots. It will launch a campaign from Goodby Silverstein & Partners focusing on "inventors and inventions". Yahoo declined comment.
The three rookies join Oscar veterans such as General Motors, American Express, McDonald's, Kodak, Pepsi and Charles Schwab. Many of these big marketers buy up to six spots to secure "exclusivity" that shuts out rival brands.
Despite rumors it would pull out, AT&T also will return with two commercials, according to spokeswoman Cindy Neale.
ABC is charging $1.4 million per 30-second ad slot this year, up from about $1.2 million, media buyers say. Shaw says only that ABC is getting the prices it wants. The network stands to take in about $70 million from 50 in-show ad slots, not counting loot from pre-Oscars programming.
Is the Oscar broadcast worth it to advertisers? "This is not a show you pull out of unless you have problems," observes media buyer Tom DeCabia of Schulman/Advanswers in New York. "It's the No. 1 entertainment show of the year. And it's still the best place to reach women or kick off a new campaign."
� 2001 USA Today