The Academy Awards is one of the most glamorous nights on television. This year at the 2011 Academy Awards there were more than just the fabulous fashions and celebrities that walked the red carpet, or as Justin Timberlake described it in his interview with Tim Gunn, the “fuschia” carpet because it looked more pink than red. Other than Melissa Leo being the first winner in Oscar history to drop the F-bomb in her speech and the all the British nominees racking up numerous wins with The King’s Speech, aspects of marketing were apparent throughout the night.
Now we all know that the Academy Awards isn’t the Super Bowl, that’s a given. However, they do have something in common. Advertisements. During the commercial breaks there were plenty of new advertisements for ABC network shows such as The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars, and Good Morning America. ABC revealed that the new cast for this season of Dancing With The Stars would be announced the following night during an episode of The Bachelor. ABC also showed that Britney Spears had a big announcement that she was going to make on Monday’s airing of Good Morning America. The network even incorporated the Academy Awards into a commercial for its series Modern Family, having the characters playing a game of Charades acting out the well-known films. ABC markets how each series of shows, whether it be reality or drama, are integrated with one another as an actual “network”. Every show has a way of incorporating another. This may be a way ABC attempts to gain viewers because they are hoping people are interested in finding out the newest DWTS cast and what big news Britney Spears has to share.
Aspects of marketing did not only show up during the commercial breaks. One example unexpectedly came to attention during Christian Bale’s acceptance speech when he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as boxer Dicky Eklund in The Fighter. The real-life Dicky Eklund was present at the award show and Christian Bale made sure that everyone knew it. Bale thanked Eklund in his speech and told him how excited he was to watch the next chapter of his life and that everyone else should too if they want to be a true champion. He told everyone to check out dickeklund.com for more information on boxing lessons with Eklund. This got a large laugh from the audience. Was this a way for Bale to return the favor to Eklund since he won an Oscar for his portrayal? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure was good publicity. If you visit the website, one of the first pictures on the site is of Bale and Eklund at the Academy Awards.
-Danielle Dorantich