The Oscars will be happening tonight and on the face of it it’s an impartial, unbiased ceremony that hands out awards based on quality and nothing else. Delve a little deeper, writes Rebecca Thomas, and just like any of the movies that will win Best Picture tonight, there are other layers to this story:

• Around awards season giant billboards go up with the name of a movie and the words “for your consideration” underneath in an attempt to convince those who determine the Oscar winners to vote for that film.
• Other aspects of the publicity campaign include parties, Q&A sessions, special gifts and much more.
• These publicity campaigns can cost up to $500,000.
• This is also why most Academy Award contenders are released late into the year. This way producers can combine the advertising for theater audiences and the Oscar voters into one bigger and cheaper marketing effort.

Read more about the types of ads that go up and more over here.

Source: BBC