Academy Awards rebranded The Oscars
While one Oscar has seen his global reputation dented in the past week, another is hoping for a brand boost.
The Academy Awards have been nicknamed “The Oscars” since 1939 and organisers have decided to adopt this as the event’s official name.
This week, the show’s co-producer, Neil Meron, told entertainment news website The Wrap: “We’re not calling it ‘The 85th Annual Academy Awards’, which keeps it mired somewhat in a musty way.
It’s called ‘The Oscars’,” he said, adding he believed the new approach would continue.
“We’re rebranding it,” said Meron during an interview alongside his co-producer, Craig Zadan.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas), which organises Tinseltown’s biggest awards, was coy when asked to comment.
An Ampas spokesperson declined to confirm the change, but said: “We use Academy Awards and The Oscars interchangeably.
We’ll begin considering next year’s marketing campaign in the spring.”
Last year’s Oscars poster was quite clearly emblazoned with “The 84th Academy Awards”.
This year’s shows a smiling host, Seth MacFarlane, under “The Oscars”, in gold. On its website, oscars.org, the event’s organisers explain that the nickname most likely originated with Academy librarian Margaret Herrick, who later became its executive director.
Upon seeing the statue for the first time, Herrick remarked that it looked like her uncle Oscar.
The nickname was officially adopted in 1939.
The Oscars organisers are widely understood to be targeting a younger audience for their annual show – and Family Guy creator MacFarlane could be part of that strategy.
Two years ago, a clear get-the-young-viewers ploy, with actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway jointly fronting the show, was widely criticised. Franco’s wooden performance drew particular scorn.
Last year, Eddie Murphy was set to host, but pulled out at the last minute after an embarrassing gay-slur row involving one of the producers.
The Academy fell back on veteran host Billy Crystal, who hosted for a ninth time.
- Australian Associated Press
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