Tonight, the Academy Awards were handed out, the world's most prestigious film prizes. With Dutch success for Victoria Warmerdam, who won with her short film I am not a robot. For filmmakers, winning an Oscar is the ultimate recognition of their work. But why shouldn't brands aspire to the same?
From interruption to perception
Ads, for all their good intentions, often have a negative connotation. Viewers perceive them as distracting or irrelevant. Even the most creative, beautifully produced commercial becomes irritating when it passes by on television for the umpteenth time. And no one is waiting for a commercial halfway through an exciting scene of your favourite series. Another source of frustration; those ‘unskippable’ ads on YouTube.
However, brands that produce entertainment can build a deeper connection with their audience. Instead of interrupting the viewing experience, they become part of it. This requires a fundamental shift in thinking: from producing ‘marketing content’ to creating high-quality entertainment that can compete with the best in the industry.
Award-winning examples of brands investing in entertainment
Glass - Vereenigde Glasfabrieken (First Dutch Oscar winner) 1960
In 1958, director Bert Haanstra made Over glas gesproken , a black-and-white information film commissioned by the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken. During this project, Haanstra became inspired and the access and resources he was given allowed him to make Glass . This short colour documentary about glass production, with jazz music by the Pim Jacobs quintet, became the first Dutch film to win an Oscar.
Although – as far as I could find out – the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken did not pay directly for Glas, the film would never have been made without their commission. This makes it an early example of ‘Brand Funded Entertainment’.
The LEGO Movie - LEGO (Oscar nomination) 2015
Imagine: you are CMO of a toy company with a rich history. Generations grew up with your product, but now you compete with video games, YouTube and VR. You've already experimented with digital content, but you're looking for a real home run—something timeless that touches both children and adults and connects generations.
The LEGO Movie received rave reviews and achieved an impressive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. The song Everything Is Awesome was nominated for an Oscar. The film was not only an entertainment hit, but also generated better sales than any other LEGO campaign. In 2015, the year after its release, sales were up de omzet met 25 per cent. In 2014, after the film's release, sales were already up 14 per cent.
“This has been the best year ever for the LEGO Group. If I could sing and dance, I should be singing and dancing because it is a fantastic number of results.” — LEGO CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, 2015.
Hair Love - Dove (Oscar winner) 2020
The short animated film Hair Love began as a Kickstarterproject by filmmaker Matthew A. Cherry, inspired by viral videos of black dads styling their daughters' hair. It raised almost $300,000-the highest funding for a short film on the platform.
In an interview with AdAge , Cherry explains that Dove largely stayed away from the project. ‘In the middle of the Kickstarter campaign, they reached out and were one of the few companies that really got it,’ he says. The brand donated some money for the production, but had no requirements regarding product placement. ‘They just really wanted to support from the beginning, and the only thing we had to do really was the shout-out in the end credits’ he says.
With 110 million views on YouTube alone, the film became an unprecedented success, with an Oscar as icing on the cake. In 2021, Dove will intensify its partnership with Cherry and launch its own product line. The collection exceeded retail forecasts, doubling expected sales in the first two months..
The Long Goodbye - WeTransfer (Oscar winner) 2022
In 2018, WeTransfer launched the content platform WePresent. In 2020, they released The Long Goodbye , a short film by Riz Ahmed outlining a dystopian world post-Brexit. The project proved that a brand can create entertainment with both artistic and social impact, while reinforcing its core values.
The impact extended beyond the screen: the film was named as ‘must-see’ in the British parliament and in addition to an Oscar won three Cannes Lions.
Barbie - Mattel (Oscar winner) 2024
In 2023, you couldn't ignore Barbie . At almost $1.5 billion, the film had the highest box office revenue of the year. Billie Eilish's title track, What Was I Made For?won an Oscar.
In 2018, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz embarked on a Hollywood strategy to reverse declining sales. Several ideas for Barbie were rejected, until indie director Greta Gerwig was given the green light after a pitch from Margot Robbie’s team;
“In that very first meeting, we impressed upon Ynon we are going to honor the legacy of your brand, but if we don’t acknowledge certain things—if we don’t say it, someone else is going to say it. So you might as well be a part of that conversation.”
By poking fun at the stereotypical Barbie and even the CEO, the film managed to make the doll relevant again. Mattel estimated that the film generated $125 millionin revenue growth, with sales in the doll category up 24 per cent and Barbie sales up 14 per cent. After the earnings report, Mattel said it expected the Barbie movie to continue to boost sales in the years to come.
Emilia Perez – Yves Saint Laurent (Oscar winner) 2025
In 2023, fashion house Yves Saint Laurent founded Saint Laurent Productions . Just a year later, three films had already been selected for Cannes, including Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez , which won the most awards at the Golden Globes.
Although the film did not completely dominate Oscar night, partly due to a number of controversial old statements by the lead actor, it still won two Academy Awards.
By focusing on films of this calibre, YSL is positioning itself not only as a fashion giant, but also as a cultural force in the entertainment world. Or as Anthony Vaccarello, Creative Director of YSL, puts it;
“You can still see a film in 10 or 30 years if it’s good. In some ways, making a film can be more impactful than a seasonal collection.”
Entertainment as the ultimate brand expression
Of course, film awards are not the only measure of success, but they do force brands to raise the bar. When a brand produces entertainment with the ambition to win an Oscar, the focus is on creativity, storytelling and quality instead of purely commercial messages.
The result? Content that the audience really wants. Brands that embrace entertainment not only make better content, but also build a deeper bond with their target audience. In a world where consumers increasingly ignore advertising, that may be the ultimate prize a brand can win.
Previously published on: Adformatie