And the Winner Is...

If there is one thing to remember from this week’s past Oscars, it is the selfie that was seen 'round the world. 

The Oscars were wildly successful as 43.7 million individuals viewed it. (Source)  This makes it the most-watched Academy Awards since 2000.  So, why was it so wildly popular?

My own excitement was due the fact that Let It Go was nominated for Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature.  (I happily watched as it toppled U2).  But, the major event in the Academy Awards turned out be Ellie DeGeneres taking a selfie with several of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars.

She used her perfectly placed Samsung phone several times during the broadcast (pulling it out and just messing with it) until she finally put it to good use. 

“Let’s make this the most retweeted picture on Twitter.”

The challenge was set for the world.

How Hollywood.  How predictable.  While I shamelessly reblogged the photo, I thought about what a fantastic plug it was for Samsung.  Its sheer white color stood amongst the red and gold of the show.  Now at the time, I noticed how just over one million people reblogged the photo. To the world, it seemed very spur-of-the-moment, to me it just felt like another desperate grab at incorporating new media and the young tech savvy generation into an arguably dwindling awards show. (Nothing spectacular had occurred in the recent award shows).

The day after the Academy Awards, a majority of the media discussed the now-infamous selfie.  Articles poured in all eagerly gossiping about what was said by each actor as the selfie was taken.  At one point Jennifer Lawrence quipped, “We’re going to have to flash a boob to get this reblogged.”  Who was the official owner of the photo? (Hint: It was Bradley Cooper because he took the photo even though it was Ellen’s cell phone).  The Hollywood gossip sites raged on and on about the picture.

Flash forward a few days and people are now discussing a different matter.  It was recently revealed that Samsung has purchased over 20 million dollars worth of advertisement during the Academy Awards equaling approximately 5 minutes of advertisement runs.  They even paid for Ellen’s brand spanking new white Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and for her to use it during the broadcast. (Source)  She never mentioned the same Samsung itself, but it was difficult to miss the white color. 

It was going to be product placement at its finest.  A managing director of the branding firm of Landor Associates notes the impact of the photo, “You can’t buy the magic of going viral.” (Source)

Too true.

As many individuals know, the selfie’s reblog crashed Ellen’s page on Twitter.  With now over 3.3 million reblogs, the picture easily overtook the Most-Retweeted title on Twitter within the first hour.  

While it can be argued that everything during the Academy Awards is planned (I can generally agree), the Academy is now tightening the gap between consumer and celebrity.  This recent show demonstrates that “Hey! Celebrities are just like you, we take selfies too!” 

I certainly don’t have anything against it.  In fact, I loved the this years Oscars despite the critic’s reams against Ellen.  While the selfie staging was apparent, I was pleasantly surprised by how delightful I found this years Academy Awards to be.

It was a great show, especially with the pizza included.