Celebrity Endorsement Ads During Oscars Up 500 Percent

Global talent and licensing entity GreenLight released its Ad Gauge study which found a 500 percent increase in celebrity endorsement commercials during last night Academy Awards broadcast. About one quarter (24%) of this year's ads took the celebrity endorsement approach.

But if you're scratching your head wondering why that figure is so high and why you can't recall seeing many celebrities in the ads, Greenlight VP David Reeder informs, "Brands and Hollywood are back in bed after the recession, but they are going about it in noticeably simpler and more understated ways. With so many stars featured during the show itself, brands decided not to try to compete and focused on more subtle integrations like voiceovers and existing footage of celebs rather than bombastic endorsements."

Conversely, the use of licensed music in ads during the broadcast saw a 50 percent decline.

And anecdotally, did you notice the voiceover for the Hyundai ads sounded a bit different last night? That's because the ads were recut with Justin Batemen doing voiceover instead of Jeff Bridges. Nominees can not be featured in ads within one hour of their category or appearance during the broadcast. With nine Hyundai ads in and around the Oscars, it would have been near impossible to avoid a collision with Bridges so the brand decided to temporarily redo the campaign's voiceover.