Brands Make the Most of the Oscars on Social
Last night's Academy Awards gave many brands a reason to celebrate on Twitter. We've rounded up the best and worst of Oscar night social media campaigns.
Last night's Academy Awards gave many brands a reason to celebrate on Twitter. We've rounded up the best and worst of Oscar night social media campaigns.
Last night’s Oscars didn’t have any huge moments like 2014’s Oscar selfie, which became the most retweeted picture in history, and made a name for Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone. But brands did have a few fun and interesting Oscar moments that brought the red carpet to social media.
The song “Everything Is Awesome” was nominated for Best Original Song, so it’s only natural that the brand got in on the Oscar fun by presenting statues made of Legos to celebrities like Oprah and having fun with hashtags and content on Twitter.
#EverythingIsAwesome at the #Oscars! pic.twitter.com/A7HzK7FOGG
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) February 23, 2015
Dove teamed up with Twitter to create the #SpeakBeautiful campaign to encourage women to speak positively about themselves and other women on the platform during the awards show. “Kudos to Dove for taking such a high road with their #SpeakBeautiful campaign,” says Bob Cargill, director of social media at Overdrive Interactive. “Overall, you can’t help but respect Dove for such aspirational marketing. It’s good for their brand image. And it’s good for social media. It’s a win-win campaign.” Dove’s message also paired nicely with the #AskHerMore hashtag that trended last night and its message of focusing on women’s achievements instead of their appearances.
Farmers Mutual Insurance is probably congratulating itself on choosing Best Supporting Actor winner J.K. Simmons as its celebrity spokesperson. While Simmons took home the trophy, Farmers Mutual pulled in some good press for the brand.
Many people didn’t know that J.K. Simmons voices the yellow M&M in the brand’s popular candy commercials, but M&Ms made sure to capitalize on their Oscar-winning celeb spokesperson in a cute tweet.
CONGRATS! #JKSimmons I’m speechless. Never mind. Found one. – Your #1 Fan Yellow pic.twitter.com/urGOB98b1W
— M&M’S® Brand (@mmschocolate) February 23, 2015
While many other brands kept their focus strictly limited to the broadcast, Ford made a good use of video and passed on an altruistic message with its #GoFurther campaign, which gave awards like “Best Picture of Hope” to deserving recipients.
The #GoFurther #Award for #BestPicture of Hope goes to Rabbi G of @Kidskickcancer. https://t.co/vCiG27ZcZo
— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) February 23, 2015
“This year we saw a lot of brands use video and animated GIFs, and among the best was Ford with its #GoFurther campaign,” says Tessa Wegert, manager of marketing and communication for Enlighten. “The focus on community and everyday heroes was a nice contrast to the star-studded event.”
Many brands tried to recreate last year’s iconic Oscar selfie, but a year later, the joke just feels flat.
#AskHerMore snagged a small victory by getting the E! network to ditch the derivative mani-cam, and Red Lobster seemed a little tone deaf when it came to the serious issue with its lighthearted tweet.