Academy OKs film ads during Oscarcast (VAR, THR, GD, TBP)

By Nancy Tartaglione-Vialatte

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has lifted a ban on movie ads running during the Oscar telecast. AMPAS’ board of governors voted to allow a limited number of spots - with several restrictions. Among them, the films must not be opening until the last week of April, at the earliest, while ads for sequels or prequels to films vying for best picture, documentary and animation categories on the night, will not be allowed.

The ban on film ads had been in existence since 1953 in an effort to avoid any suggestion that studio money influenced the awards.

After a record ratings low last year, movie spots could spruce things up a bit with promos possible for such films as "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," "G.I. Joe" and "Terminator Salvation."

And, catering slightly more to the traditional Oscar viewer, fare like Nora Ephron’s “Julie and Julia” and Peter Jackson’s “Lovely Bones” could also pop up, notes The Big Picture blog.

Ad time is always in high-demand during the Oscars but, earlier this year, General Motors pulled out of its exclusive auto advertiser role. Hyundai Motor America has since taken its place.

Two years ago, 30-second ads on the Oscar telecast reached an all-time high of $1.7 million, bringing in approximately $80 million total, Reports peg last year’s 30-second cost between $1.6 million and $1.8 million.

The Big Picture notes that given the current economic crisis, and everyone pulling back on advertising commitments everywhere, the Oscars can't be so choosy anymore.

But, Academy president Sid Ganis told Variety that the board has considered the question of movie ads in the Oscarcast for some time. "We’ve been talking about it a lot," Ganis said. "We’re a celebration of movies, and here is a way to get new movies out there in addition to celebrating movies from the previous year."

"It’s a great idea," one marketing exec told Variety. "It’s a large audience of tens of millions of people who are interested in movies. To not have taken advantage of that opportunity seems like it’s been a missed opportunity."

Among the Academy’s other rules for accepting movie ads are: Only one spot per distributor at 30 or 60 seconds in length, the ad must not have previously run anywhere else, it may not use the terms "Oscar" or "Academy Award," it must be for a sole film and not a slate, there will be only one movie spot per commercial break.

Next year’s telecast is set for Feb. 22 on ABC.