Oscar Ads Bet on Tinseltown’s Spell

Imagine some advertiser snatching Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner and Meryl Streep for a single, star-studded commercial.

Don’t expect that to happen. De Niro refuses to appear in commercials--and Costner and Streep are virtual untouchables.

But Monday night during the Academy Awards telecast on ABC, any advertiser willing to spend $500,000 for a 30-second spot has its once-a-year chance to share the same TV screen with Tinseltown’s biggest names.

“Advertisers are buying into the Oscar image,” said Los Angeles ad man Stan Freberg. It’s not so much what the advertisers say that matters on Oscar night; it’s the simple fact that they wrap themselves in the Hollywood glamour and glitz.

Indeed, most Academy Awards advertisers have long histories sponsoring the spectacle. Revlon, for example, is in its 17th year. And J. C. Penney, Kodak, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s have embraced the event for years.

Unlike the Super Bowl, which didn’t sell out its commercial time until a few weeks before the big game, all of the more than 40 commercial units for next week’s Oscar gala were sold out last August.

Of course, not just any advertiser is a perfect fit for the Academy Awards. “Dr. Scholl’s footpads would have a tough time buying into the Oscar image,” Freberg said.

But iC. Penney runs four ads during the Academy Awards, it must know a thing or two about fashion, right? If a Revlon ad airs after Madonna walks off stage, the company must sell some halfway decent makeup, correct? And if Kodak broadcasts several spots during the film industry’s biggest night, isn’t Kodak the only film for wanna-be filmmakers?

“The show is all about the art of filmmaking. . . . People are all little artists when they take pictures with Kodak film,” said Frank Costantini, senior vice president and creative director at the New York agency J. Walter Thompson, which has created Oscar night ads for Kodak for years.

Revlon too recognizes that viewer fantasies run rampant during the broadcast.

“It’s a night to think about adopting a particular actress’ hairstyle or makeup look,” said Daniel J. Moriarty, senior vice president of public relations at Revlon. “Therefore, it’s a perfect opportunity to remind our customers that the most unforgettable women in the world wear Revlon.”

But will these same women buy their clothes at J. C. Penney?

Certainly that’s what the giant retailer hopes. “You put yourself in this environment because on Oscar night people are skewed toward fashion,” said James Hradecky, managing director of the Dallas agency Ayer Southwest, which creates Penney’s ads. “But how many people watching will see Cher in her new $20,000 gown and ask, ‘Where can I buy it?’ Not many.” Instead, he said, most viewers want to know where to buy affordable fashions.

Coke, too, will air several TV spots during the broadcast. And the man responsible for many of them admits that he’s nervous. “If you’re going to be on the Academy Awards, you’d better be damned good,” said Sean Fitzpatrick, vice chairman and chief creative officer for McCann-Erickson’s North American operations.

“Each advertisement we run is competing with the best filmed art of the year,” Fitzpatrick said. “We have pride, too.”

Spike Lee to Address Ad Club

The Ad Club is about to Do the Right Thing.

Spike Lee, director and star of the film “Do the Right Thing,” as well as several Nike TV spots, is scheduled to speak March 26 at the Advertising Club of Los Angeles luncheon. The noon luncheon is open to the public.

Lee will talk about his career as a film actor and director, as well as commercial star. The $45- to $55-per-plate event is expected to sell out. But will Spike be wearing his Nikes?

Campaign Goes On Minus Creator

Pacy Markman isn’t crying over spilled beer.

But when Miller Brewing Co. handed its $110-million Miller Lite ad business to a new agency last week, no one mentioned that in 1972 it was the Los Angeles ad man who created the very first Miller Lite campaign slogan: “Everything you always wanted in a beer. . . . And less.”

Shortly after creating that campaign at McCann-Erickson in New York, Markman was hired by a different firm and no longer worked on Miller Lite ads. He later joined the Los Angeles office of DDB Needham and is now a political consultant in Santa Monica.

“Once every three years, I kick myself for leaving (McCann-Erickson),” Markman said. “But when I see someone else take credit for the campaign, I feel like kicking them.”