BENTONVILLE, AR - Heading to the Oscars once again this year is, drumroll please, you may have guessed it...Walmart; or at least in the art form of short 60-second films during the awards-show telecast. In 2018, Walmart will bring this fresh set of films, or rather ads, to the screen, which will be crafted by one of three female directors: Melissa McCarthy, Nancy Meyers and Dee Rees, according to Variety.
This will be the second consecutive year that Walmart will advertise during the Oscars. In 2017, Walmart ran a series of short films that featured three different directors’ takes on a Walmart receipt: Marc Forster, Antoine Fuqua, and the pairing of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Check out The Gift by Antoine Fuqua below for a taste of what 2017 had to offer.
This year, each advertisement kicks off with the depiction of Walmart’s blue shipping box, and then continues with each director’s interpretation of its journey and what’s inside.
As Variety notes, in relation to the larger conversation going on with the #MeToo movement, Walmart executives say they aren’t trying to cash in.
“We are aware of the conversation going on, but we are looking to be integrated authentically into the show,” Kirsten Evans, Senior Vice President of Marketing for the company was quoted as saying. “Being a part of a really entertaining night is the sole purpose of what we were trying to accomplish.”
So, what else does Walmart have planned along these lines in 2018? The company will team up with Women In Film Los Angeles. This organization advocates for, and advances the careers of, women working in the screen industries—to achieve parity and transform culture, according to the Women in Film website. Three up-and-coming female filmmakers will be a part of the campaign and will be able to shadow the three 2018 directors as they set about to create the Walmart Oscars pieces, acording to Variety.
“There is kind of a long-held belief in the entertainment industry that the pipeline of talent isn’t deep enough and I think that it is starting to shift, and that this is representative of that shift,” Kirsten Schaffer, Executive Director of the organization said.
As Variety reported, ABC has been seeking anywhere from $2 million to $2.6 million for a 30-second ad in its March 4th Oscars broadcast, according to media buyers and other people familiar with the negotiations.
“We haven’t always been front and center in these types of events,” Tony Rogers, Walmart’s Chief Marketing Officer stated. “We are trying to change that. We like the idea of Walmart as a brand being part of the public discourse and the public conversation.”
Between recently announced Oscar nominations and the buzz and excitement of the New Year, Walmart just might be finding a place among the "stars."
