Chrysler Takes Lead Role on Yahoo for Oscars

Chrysler has been trying to tap the interest around the Golden Globes, Grammys, and Academy Awards on Yahoo in a big way.

In a content-based initiative dubbed “Road to the Awards,” the automotive brand’s logo is being seen on re-skins for Yahoo’s “Movies” section while getting plugged in a series of dedicated behind-the-scene videos. For the Academy Awards, videos cover the topics of celebrity hairstyling, how starlets choose their gowns, and Oscars gift bags. Each video runs three or more minutes.

Site visitors can pick the winner for each awards category, such as best picture or best supporting actress. They are encouraged to enter their selections into their Facebook newsfeeds by clicking a “Share” button.

Chrysler display ads are appearing on all “Road to the Awards” pages, as well as across Yahoo’s ad network. The promotions are part of the brand’s “Imported From Detroit” campaign, which was launched around Chrysler’s Super Bowl ad featuring Motor City rap star Eminem.

Liz Coughlin, head of Yahoo’s “TV” and “omg!” sections, said the current effort is similar to how the sponsorship played out for the Grammys and Golden Globes in recent weeks. Coughlin said the Chrysler sponsorship was the first to run on her company’s site for three different award shows.

“Every year we do a big deal around the award shows,” she said. “But every year that deal keeps getting bigger and bigger because the demand keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

Meanwhile, the Sunnyvale, CA-based firm said it requested customized comScore data comparing Yahoo’s Movies site for the mid-January Golden Globes to MSN and Moviefone. According to Yahoo, it garnered 7 million unique visitors, twice as many as MSN’s TV and “Wonderwall” pages (3.3 million) and three times as many as Moviefone (2 million).