Verizon spotlights women, LGBTQ, immigrants in Oscars commercial

Verizon will air two 45-second commercials and two 30-second commercials in ABC’s broadcast of the awards show. It is also a full sponsor of the Oscars, meaning it has category exclusivity.

Last year, Verizon ran six ads during the Academy Awards, totaling three minutes, including two in Spanish. It marked the first time a brand aired commercials in Spanish during the Oscars that didn’t include subtitles.  

Verizon used the awards show last year to kick off its strategy of telling the real stories of customers in its commercials.

As part of the campaign this year, Verizon will also showcase its 5G technology by transporting people in New York City’s Times Square to the Oscars Red Carpet. Footage will be delivered from the red carpet in Los Angeles to New York City via Verizon’s live 4K 360-degree camera. Using Verizon’s 5G mobile device, viewers will then be able to step into a virtual portal where they can then control what they see on the red carpet. The goal is to show how 5G “allows for videos to be transmitted at a higher bit-rate with better resolution to provide a more robust viewing experience,” the company said in a statement.

Verizon’s Oscars campaign comes off last week’s Super Bowl ad, which celebrated first responders and promoted its 5G technology. It also included showcasing 5G in Miami, where the Super Bowl took place, and using a 5G camera for the first time during the Fox broadcast of the game.

The goal of the two campaigns is to show exactly what Verizon 5G is, and to clarify what people are hearing from the company’s competitors, says John Nitti, senior VP and chief media officer, Verizon.

Verizon went head-to-head with T-Mobile during Super Bowl weekend over whose 5G is best. Aside from both brands airing commercials in the Big Game, the two also traded punches on social media.