Interesting story: Jeff Bridges was the voice of Hyundai, literally and figuratively. And the same year that Hyundai had eight new spots running on the Oscars, he was a favorite for Best Actor. Serendipitous, right?
But two weeks out, we learned of an obscure AMPAS rule prohibiting nominees from appearing in ads during the event "to ensure no one mistakes a commercial for the resumption of the Oscars telecast." Evidently Hollywood has an even lower opinion of TV viewers than Madison Avenue does.
His agent offered to let us choose a stand-in VO for the night from a list of other actors she repped. We chose eight of them. And Hyundai got more attention and earned media around its Oscar-night takeover than if serendipity had had its way.
These are some of the talented folks I've been lucky enough to work with over the years. (Jeff and friends included.)
Jeff Bridges – Hyundai
Jason Bateman – Hyundai
Richard Dreyfuss – Hyundai
Kim Basinger – Hyundai
Catherine Keener – Hyundai
David Duchovny – Hyundai
Michael Madsen – Hyundai
Mandy Patinkin – Hyundai
Martin Sheen – Hyundai
Hank Azaria – Old Milwaukee
Leo Kotke – Saturn
Henry Rollins – Saturn
Andy Richter – RCA
John Goodman – Burger King
Jeff Goldblum – Apple
Liev Shriber – Infiniti
Ed Herrmann – PlayStation
Harry Shearer – PlayStation
Keith Carradine – Jimmy Dean
Dennis Quaid – Visa
David Sutcliffe – Visa
Aaron Eckhart – Ford
Bryan Cranston – Ford
Oscars Watch: Hyundai Takes Center Stage
If you're the brand managers at Hyundai, now is no time to let up on the accelerator. The company is trying to build on its recent U.S. market-share gains and ramp up some crucial new products. Demonstrating its grasp of timing, Hyundai will be the exclusive automotive sponsor of the 83rd Academy Awards telecast on Sunday on ABC.