Newsletter
See All the Big Ads From Sunday's Oscars Telecast
Google, Verizon, Walmart and Rolex came out swinging
Next to the Super Bowl, the Oscars are the second biggest showcase of the year for TV commercials. On Sunday night, we got plenty of big-budget spots—many of them with Hollywood tie-ins—including several advertisers who aired a slew of spots each.
On a somewhat unpredictable night for the awards themselves, were any of the commercials particularly fun and surprising? See below for a roundup.
Google had fun throughout the evening by embedding its technology in classic film scenes for the “#HeyGoogle, Let’s Go to the Movies” campaign. In addition to the 60-second compilation spot below, there were also a bunch of :15s.
Verizon
Verizon aired six commercials from McCann and The Community featuring real stories of its customers and how the carrier’s network was important for them at critical moments of their lives. Below is one of the spots; see the others on YouTube.
Cadillac
The automaker and agency Rokkan used the Oscars stage to debut a new positioning, “Rise Above,” featuring all the vehicles in Cadillac’s crossover/SUV lineup—the XT4, XT5, XT6 and the Escalade. The soundtrack for all the spots was Childish Gambino’s “Me and Your Mama.” Below is the anthem spot.
Walmart
The retailer recruited six Hollywood stylists—Elizabeth Stewart, Tara Swennen, Ashley Weston, Michael Fisher, Ilaria Urbinati and Jeanne Yang—in a new partnership with The Academy to promote fashion’s importance to film. The campaign celebrates the industry’s behind-the-scenes talents and portrays Walmart as a fashion destination in stores and online. See the individual spots on Walmart’s YouTube page.
Rolex
The watch maker called on four heavy-hitting Hollywood directors—Martin Scorsese, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron—who were seen writing letters to future filmmakers. It also designed the swanky-as-hell green room for the ceremony, where guests were taken on a journey to the bottom of the sea—part of Rolex’s Perpetual Planet campaign. Along with the :60 below, each filmmaker got a 30-second spot.
Nike
Late in the telecast, Nike rolled out the wonderful “Dream Crazier,” its 90-second follow-up to last year’s celebrated “Dream Crazy” commercial. This one was narrated by Serena Williams and focused on the hurdles women athletes face.
Apple
The tech giant used two quirky :30s to push the “depth control” photo feature on the iPhone—and to remind you not to Bokeh your friends’ kids.
Hennessy
Ridley Scott’s four-minute visual extravaganza “The Seven Worlds” was cut into a :60 for the Oscars telecast.
Movies and TV Shows
ABC pushed its upcoming spy drama Whiskey Cavalier hard all night with a series of “Spyvertising” spoof ads from Deutsch, featuring the show’s stars, Scott Foley and Lauran Cohen. We also got clips for FX’s Fosse/Verdon series, as well as the films The Irishman, The Lion King and Rocketman. See all of those below.
