Over the past 10 years (2000-2009), the Academy Awards ceremony has generated $711.2 million of advertising revenue, of which one-half (50.9%) has come from three industries—financial services, beverages, and automotive—according to Kantar Media.

Sometimes referred to in advertising circles as "the Super Bowl for women," the Academy Awards remains a marquee franchise for advertisers, even though TV audience ratings have declined in recent years.

Below, additional findings released by Kantar.

The Price of Advertising Over 10 Years

After three consecutive years of stable ad prices and revenue, the average cost of a 30-second ad during the Academy Awards fell 22.6% in 2009, to $1.31 million, from $1.69 million the previous year.

Total ad revenue for the year fell 16.2%, to $68.0 million, from $81.1 million the previous year. That performance was influenced by two factors, including a deepening recession that caused marketers to slash their ad budgets, and the prospect of an actor's strike that threatened to damage TV ratings. Though the strike threat was resolved a month before the event, the deteriorating economy proved less surmountable.

Over the past 10 years, the top 5 ad categories accounted for 67.3% of total Academy Awards ad revenue, led by the financial services (18.9%), followed by beverages (17.2%), automotive (14.8%), department stores (9.6%), and cosmetics & hair care (6.8%).

The 2009 Awards ceremony featured the first-ever advertising from movie studios, after the Academy removed a long-standing ban. Disney and Paramount each bought one spot to plug an upcoming theatrical release.

Ceremony's Top Advertisers Shift in 2009

Throughout much of the past decade, the Academy Awards has had a stable core of blue-chip advertisers that accounted for a majority of ad revenue, including companies such as General Motors, L'Oreal, American Express, and JC Penney.

However, in 2009, GM and L'Oreal dropped out completely in cost-cutting moves. Other marketers eventually stepped in, but the top advertiser rankings underwent a major reshuffling with Hyundai at the top of the 2009 leaderboard in its Academy Awards debut.

Prior to the withdrawal of GM and L'Oreal, the last big shake-up occurred in 2006 when Coca-Cola took over the beverage category sponsorship from Pepsi.


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Academy Awards Advertising: $711M Over Past Decade

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