the elevator pitch

Not sure if anyone out there was aware, but last evening was the 82nd annual Academy Awards on ABC. As Oscar parties gathered throughout North America, the biggest one rolled out the red carpet in Hollywood and played host to some of the world’s biggest movie stars. With films like Avatar and the Hurt Locker up for the year’s biggest prizes, first timers like Christoph Waltz really stole the show. Here’s the breakdown of some of the noteworthy awards:

Best Picture – The Hurt Locker

Best Actor in a Leading Role – Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Cristohp Waltz for Inglorious Basterds

Best Actress in a Leading Role – Sandra Bullock for The Blindside

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Mo-Nique for Precious

Best Animated Feature – Up!

Best Art Direction – Avatar

Best Director – Kathryn Bigalow for The Hurt Locker

Best Adapted Screenplay – Precious

Best Original Screenplay – The Hurt Locker

Avatar actually took quite a few technical awards throughout the evening (to no surprise), but there is no question that Oscar’s biggest winner was Kathryn Bigalow and her entire cast and crew for The Hurt Locker. Judging from the warm reception she received along with the night’s final award, Bigalow became the first female director to win Best Director. For a full recap of all of the winners, you can also check out Oscar.com.

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The conclusion of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics marks an important day for marketing and PR firms. Not only will it signify one of the largest global media events in recent history, but it also represents the end of this event. And let’s be honest, marketing and sales are the real numbers we’re all looking for with the conclusion of the games. Just like the normal transition from one event to the next, it looks like giant media outlets are doing the same as they pack up their TV trucks. So what is next?

World Cup 2010 in South Africa

Without a doubt, the South Africa FIFA World Cup will be the next huge event the world will watch on their TV’s, read about in the papers and stream legally online. With just as much international pride (if not more) as the Olympics, you can bet that the sporting world will be glued to the drama as the world’s greatest football tournament commences this Summer.

The 2010 Master’s Tournament

Under normal circumstances The Master’s would only be considered a big event in the golfing world. Yes, the greatest golfers of the modern era gather to win the season’s biggest and most respected prize in the sport, but 2010 brings a twist that nobody could have predicted. The 2010 Master’s could be the triumphant return (or downfall of, depending on how you see it) of Tiger Woods. As his well documented family issues unfold in the tabloids, he’ll look to get back to what makes him great on the golf course this April.

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According to the long and well documented deal Conan O’Brien had made with NBC upon his exit, he is not legally allowed to appear on his own television show until September of 2010. All of those rumors about Conan bringing his show to a network like Fox or Comedy Central can be put on hold through the summer because, legally, it cannot be done. But fear not Conan super-fans. Our favorite redhead talk show host isn’t going quietly into the night, in fact, he’ll probably be screamed into the night for a rumored live show now in the works.

Although nothing is finalized, Conan’s team has been working for the past two weeks with the William Morris Endeavor to book venues and dates across America. Why these venues and dates are being booked is still a mystery, but if history can prove anything, we could expect to see a traveling Co-Co show later this year.

Returning to the stage seems to be working for Conan’s friend Paul Reubens who has taken his famed character Pee-Wee Herman back to the LA stage. Whether or not this will work for Conan (and whether or not the rumors will be proved correct) will be a question we’ll all be waiting for.

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First of all, congratulations to Alex Bilodeau on grabbing (hopefully) the first of many Olympic Gold medals for Canada last evening. Although the majority of the world is still a little bit clueless as to how Freestyle Moguls scoring goes, Canada is proud to have seen the Quebec native break the curse. But here at The Elevator Pitch we noticed something very interesting. Just minutes after Bilodeau’s score was posted on national television, CTV ran a newly edited music video featuring Bilodeau’s run. We should expect to see something like this produced over the course of the games, but to see his run with the background music of Nikki Yanofsky only minutes after means Canadian media was expecting this.

But CTV wasn’t the only one quick to congratulate Canada and Bilodeau as during the first commercial break VISA ran a congratulatory commercial mentioning Canada’s first gold medal on home soil.

It looks and sounds like Canada isn’t the only nation hoping to make a big splash over the course of the next couple of weeks as companies all over the world are quick to jump on the national pride train. Keep your eyes peeled for the next time Canada captures a gold medal and you’ll probably see various commercials and montages.

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In conjunction with NBC, Coca-Cola has developed a brand new Olympic campaign set to launch for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The partnership between the US broadcasting giant and non-alcoholic beverage king will allow people from all over the US to follow US athletes during their foray into Vancouver over the next couple of weeks. The campaign focuses on US athletes expected to medal or at the very least do well enough to deserve a certain amount of press.

Known as the Coca-Cola Six-Pack, the mobile campaign in conjunction with the Open The Games, Open Happiness campaign,  ties together print media, television coverage and web updates all in the palm of hands. The hope is to gather a lot of national support for Olympic athletes, but at the same time show how companies like Coke and NBC are backing the games. Together with hand held updates, images, statistics and a custom built Coke WAP interface, the Six-Pack will also provide custom ring tones and phone sounds based on the games.

NBC and Coke see so much potential with the Coca-Cola Six-Pack that they have already signed a major deal to do the same in 2020 for the London Games.

Although it was never a question as to which companies would have a stranglehold on Olympic marketing, we can now safely say that Coke and NBC have gone beyond what we see on the streets.

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