Inside the Relentless Marketing Push Behind Every Oscar Winner

A look inside Hollywood's run for the Gold and the marketing machinery behind it.

- T.L. Stanley

In this eventful and entertaining election year, the campaigning is not limited to Hillary and Bernie and Marco and Trump. Also out there stumping—for another high-profile and much-coveted albeit very different kind of prize—are Leo and Brie and Saoirse and Sly. And Spielberg and Pitt. And Paramount and Fox and Disney.

Even before this year’s Academy Award nominees were announced on the morning of Jan. 14 in Beverly Hills, Calif., the Hollywood publicity machine had already kicked into high gear. Early on came the film festivals, followed by public appearances, profiles by major media, the talk show circuit and eventually those ubiquitous “for your consideration” ads in the trades—all of it careful to follow the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ rules regulating Oscar campaigns.

But make no mistake: There are plenty of promotional tools that are at the nominees’ disposal—and those involved in the annual marketing blitz around the Oscars take their work every bit as seriously as those behind any White House run, admittedly with much better clothes. According to conservative estimates, anywhere from $3 million to more than $10 million is invested to lobby academy voters on behalf of the Best Picture nominees alone—that includes sending screeners to voting members, buying digital and print ads, and throwing lavish parties. Because there is no clear front-runner across a number of categories, insiders note a definite uptick in the number of pre-Oscars shindigs this year. “I feel like I’ve been on a cruise ship,” cracks veteran Oscars watcher Pete Hammond.