Oscars Nominated, but Super Bowl Wins

The Oscars ceremony is considered the second largest network television buying opportunity of the year among US advertisers, second only to the Super Bowl - but advertising recall is lower and viewing behaviour rather different, according to advertising researchers Ipsos-ASI.

For the second year running advertising recall was strongest for Pepsi, who aired 7 commercials during the Oscars telecast on February 29. Cadillac used 9 commercials but came in second place in recall terms. Pepsi was the second most memorable advertiser (behind Anheuser-Busch) at this year's Super Bowl.

This year's 76th Annual Academy Awards broadcast drew an estimated 42.5 million viewers, up 17% from last year. National advertisers paid a reported $1.5 million for a 30-second ad spot during the Oscar's broadcast.

The Oscars are sometimes considered the 'Super Bowl for Women', but while some advertisers targeted a female audience, this year's performance by Cadillac shows that the ceremonies may actually be a good opportunity to connect with a male audience as well.

Ipsos-ASI also conducted research after the Super Bowl, and found viewing behaviour for the Oscars very different. Viewers are twice as likely to switch channels during Oscars commercials (50% do so) than during those in the Super Bowl (25%), and just under half of viewers watched the entire Oscars broadcast, compared with almost two-thirds who watched the entire Super Bowl. This has implications for advertisers who target their ads for the end of the Oscars, when the most coveted awards are being given, such as Best Actor and Best Picture. Men who watched this year's Super Bowl remembered an average of 3.5 of the ads that were shown during the game, where 2004 Oscars' viewers recalled on average just over two. Fewer than half (42%) could remember any advertiser during the Oscars, where 89% of men could remember an advertiser from the Super Bowl.

According to Lana Busignani, Senior VP at Ipsos-ASI, 'The Super Bowl has more focus on the ads and build-up and excitement regarding the advertising in advance, while the Oscars program is more about the event and the celebrities ... the advertising is less hyped'.

Ipsos-ASI interviewed 300 adults aged 21-60 online, after Sunday's broadcast.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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