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17 (mostly failed) Brand Tweets From The Oscars

Authors: Jay Baer Jay Baer
Posted Under: Social Media
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Well that didn’t take long.

In the few short weeks between the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards, it seems dozens of brands (and/or their agencies) have decided to “get themselves some of that real-time marketing!”

Here’s the deal. If you’re going to try to capitalize on televised American water cooler moments you either need to be truly, inherently nimble and FAST like Audi and Oreo at the Super Bowl, or provide information that further the knowledge or entertainment of stream junkies.

Unfortunately, several brands missed that mark by a mile at this year’s Oscars.

Missed Opportunities

 

Really don’t understand this one from New York Life. Not in-the-moment, nor even a link.


This one is perhaps somewhat better, but the photo doesn’t play into the Oscars theme.

 

Samsung was pushing (via promoted Tweets) their long form commercial on YouTube, and tying back to their TV spots during the telecast. Very strange wording of tweets, as was more of a hashtag hijack than real-time marketing. This guy agreed:

 

Planned in Advance, and Just Okay

Lots of companies went the pretend real-time route, creating images based on nominees and winners, and pushing them into the Twitter stream organically or via promoted Tweet. Meh.

 

Had a lot of time to potentially come up with something amazing with the Oscar vs. Oscars tie-in.

 

Nice execution, but not sure why anyone would rush to retweet this (and it only received 6)

 

Similar issue here. An image that simply announces the winner (which we already know) isn’t taking your brand anywhere.


However, this six word film plots idea is solid.

Trying too Hard and Crossing the Streams

If you try to capture a real-time moment (or even an Oscar factoid) but then smash your promotional plug into the tweet what you end up with is a very short, very awkward advertisement.

 

Premise of “did you know?” Oscar info snacks was good. Didn’t like the transition to Bing vs. Google here.

 

One of the few truly in-the-moment tweets. Close, very close.

Organic and Interesting

 

No call-to-action or link here, but it’s so unvarnished it’s commendable. Reads just like what one of your pals would tweet. Not sure that’s on brand for Victoria’s Secret, necessarily but I liked the unfiltered nature of this.

 

Several decent Vines put together by Lean Cuisine. Good production values at least, and hey it’s lettuce.

 

One of my favorites. I’m sure they had this worked out well in advance, but nicely executed. Funny, timely and good production. (1,000+ retweets, incidentally)

 

I very much enjoyed these candid shots from backstage, posted by the official account. The hashtag is waaaaaaaay too long though. 20 characters?

Educational Youtilities

Several brands – mostly media companies – used the Oscars to tweet tidbits of information that added to the knowledge or understanding of those paying attention.

 

Interesting on the H&M angle, and right on target with the US audience.


WSJ sent out several of these throughout the night, but only when they had facts that added to the moment. Nice restraint.

 

I’m all for real-time marketing, but promoting some tweets during a big TV-watching night does not, by itself, equal success.

Did you see some tweets you like or disliked during the Oscars?

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