2009 Academy Awards Advertising

The 2009 Awards aired 26 minutes of commercials (excluding promotional announcements and PSAs), three minutes more than the 2008 event. Hyundai replaced General Motors as the exclusive auto advertiser, and aired 4½ minutes of commercials, making it the top advertiser. Coca-Cola was next with 4 minutes, followed by JC Penney, with 3½.

New advertisers for the 2009 Awards and how many minutes they ran are listed in the chart below. Hyundai, the top advertiser, ran several general ads, as well as three 30-second spots for its Genesis brand. Sprint Nextel promoted its wireless and web access services. Bristol-Myers Squibb ran one ad for Orencia, a rheumatoid arthritis drug. National Amusements had one ad for DreamWorks Pictures’ Soloist movie, and Techtronic placed a commercial for Hoover vacuum cleaners.

In 2008, movies nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director spent more than $118.8 million (all figures quoted exclude internet and outdoor advertising) on advertising in the United States. Although neither Brad nor Angelina won for their nominated categories, their movies were the biggest spenders. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was nominated in three of the four categories, spent $31 million-more than any other movie, while Changeling, nominated in just one category, ranked second in spending: $29.6 million. Frozen River, nominated for Best Actress, spent the least, under $400,000.

Spending on movies nominated in the Best Picture and Best Director categories was $64.3 million (the same movies were nominated for both categories). In comparison, the movies in the Best Actor category spent $57.3 million on advertising, while movies for Best Actress spent $55.5.

Milk, winner of the Best Actor category, spent $11.3 million on advertising; more than double that of The Reader, the movie that nabbed the Best Actress Oscar.