Last Sunday night, the 83rd Academy Awards, celebrating the finest in 2010’s cinema, took place. It lasted for just three hours, but took a year of planning to coordinate the entire event, including several months of posting advertisements, much like this poster.
This particular ad revolves around the assumption that everyone knows about the Oscars, adopting a very streamlined, minimalist style. All it consists of is one of the Oscar statuettes illuminated by a spotlight, and the tagline, “You’re Invited. Oscar.”
The biggest draw to the poster is the only object that is actually included: the Oscar itself. This golden statue is such an iconic image that people automatically realize what the poster is about, and the poster doesn’t even bother including more information. Again, the only real text is “You’re Invited.” It’s almost as if the marketers are saying that a viewer should know what the Oscars are, that they’re kind of a big deal. This assumed prior knowledge about the event takes the place of details within the poster, justifying the minimalistic approach.
This art style actually adds to the viewer’s perception of the event, though. By using cel-shaded graphics to depict the Oscar, the ceremony seems much more modern and fashionable. The spotlights on the statue make it look as if it is actually a very large structure, on scale with the Statue of Liberty in New York City, since it needs such powerful lights to illuminate it. In addition, there are only three colors used in the poster: gold, white, and black. All three of these are associated with wealth and high-class, so the fact that they depict the Oscar implies that the awards ceremony is a very high profile event. Rather than using vibrant colors or a lively style, which would compromise the “elite” status the poster is trying to convey and make it seem more “kiddish,” the poster utilizes a very stylized approach in order to market the Oscars. After all, everyone wants to be in the “cool” crowd with the celebrities.
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