Who's Who In Academy Awards Advertising

Vera Wang and other fashion designers may have been competing to win over the red carpet viewers during the 81st annual Academy Awards show on February 23 with their flair for style, but a select group of retailers was also hoping to catch the eye of cost-conscious viewers. Let's look at a few advertisers whose commercials filled the time in between the "and the Oscar goes to..." moments.

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Early Ads
Before Hugh Jackman could tell his first joke, title sponsorship ads for Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) and Hyundai flashed across the screen, foreshadowing the first lineup of commercials following Penelope Cruz's receipt of the first Oscar of the night for Best Supporting Actress.

South Korean Auto
Hyundai mentioned the quality of its vehicles and the thousands of U.S. workers employed by the South Korea-based automaker. Hyundai does not offer American Depository Receipts (ADRs) on U.S. exchanges, but the discount automaker, which is well known for its bumper-to-bumper warranties, is a portfolio holding of the iShares MSCI South Korea Index ETF (NYSE:EWY). The EWY ETF has not outperformed the S&P 500 index year-to-date. The same result is true when looking back over the previous three-year and five-year periods through February 20, suggesting that investors may not find the risk and reward profile of the EWY ETF suitable for their investment needs. (To learn more about ADRs, be sure to check out our ADR Basics Tutorial.)

3G Wireless Provider
Sprint Nextel advertising continues to be led by CEO Daniel R. Hesse espousing the opportunity that 3G wireless connectivity offers to consumer and commercial customers. Despite massive layoff numbers in January, the wireless service provider continues to enhance the quality of its service in cities like Oklahoma City, Houston, San Antonio and Little Rock. On February 19, Sprint announced revenues of $35.6 billion and a diluted loss per share of 57 cents for 2008.

Upscale Cola
Coca-Cola's Diet Coke appeared as a simply sophisticated cola that can satisfy even trendy restaurant customers. For the full year of 2008, Coca-Cola reported a 5% increase in unit case volume, aided in part by a 6% increase in international unit case volume led by China, India and Eastern Europe. Coca-Cola reported earnings per share for the year of $2.49.

Later Ads
Later in the evening, I also noticed commercials from department store retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) and consumer staples stalwarts Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD).

Final Thoughts
Although viewership for the 81st Academy Awards was expected to decline in 2009, causing advertising rates to drop to anywhere between $1.4 million and $1.7 million for a 30-second spot, taking note of who was advertising and who was not is a strategy investors can use to identify possible candidates for investment.