With Jimmy Kimmel returning to host the 96th Academy Awards, marking his third time in the role, ABC set out to find a way to celebrate the momentous occasion. The network looked to excite viewers for this year's Oscars and drive tune-in for the year's exciting event.
Ahead of this year's Academy Awards, ABC created a series of promos starring Kimmel alongside "Barbie" actors Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, and America Ferrera, telling the story of Kimmel's journey from Barbieland to the Oscars. With McKinnon's "Weird Barbie" as his guide, Kimmel travels through myriad unique lands that utilize the themes and iconography of several Oscar-nominated films. The promo takes a humorous and good-natured poke at a variety of contemporaneous ideas, such as stereotypically handsome actors, and the clueless, casual sexism of the movie industry.
The series of videos builds on McKinnon's character from "Barbie," allowing her to once again be a guru—this time for Kimmel on his journey to the Oscars. The sets, props, makeup, and costumes are all designed to mimic those seen in "Barbie," while adding new elements that feel as if they would be at home in the setting.
Weird Barbie's geometric, psychedelic home was reutilized in both distant shots and closeups, and the shots were blocked to highlight the scenery to ensure fans of the film would find oodles of Easter eggs and references among the unusual decor. The promo also added new elements to the "Barbie" setting, like Weird Barbie's car, the Weird Wagon, fitting right in with her wild, unhinged aesthetic.
The colorful montage, accompanying art direction, and soundtrack are all celebratory of the year in film while paying homage to "Barbie," exciting viewers to tune in for this year's awards ceremony with a knowing wink and a humorous, humble send-up of the male-dominated industry.
ABC's campaign made a huge splash in exciting viewers for the Academy Awards. The network saw more than 19.5 million viewers tune in for the 2024 Oscars.
