During the 81st Annual Academy Awards telecast, studios will be able to advertise their movies for the first time.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board of governors voted Tuesday night to ease its long-standing ban on movie advertisements. The board voted to allow a limited number of spots for movies that have not yet opened — meaning that none of the nominated films can be promoted during the telecast.
The Academy will allow one spot per distributor, and the spot must also be one that has not yet run anywhere else.
Academy Award nominations in all categories will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009. The 81st Academy Awards presentation will be telecast live by the ABC Television Network on Sunday, February 22, 2009.
