Oscars ads up to $1.5 mn

Celebrities attending the 76th Annual Academy Awards on February 29 can rest easy.

America still remains incensed over the Janet Jackson nipple-baring incident, and the hordes of rather controversial ads crammed during the airtime of the Superbowl match. But the Academy has now decided to be stringent about the commercials that will air during the Oscars, reports People magazine. All ads aired during the ceremony must be approved by the Academy.

Related links: Janet Jackson apologises again Janet Jackson dumped from Grammies

Some of the rules are:

-No mention of the show itself or of any awards show

-No ads featuring clips from movies that have been nominated for awards

-No ads featuring any nominee or Oscar presenter

-No ads from competing companies (the only car company that has been allowed to advertise is Cadillac)

-No ad for feminine hygiene products. In fact there will be no pharmaceutical ads at all.

An AP report mentions that these rules have been in place for at least 20 years.

A representative told People that the intention is not to create a stuffy atmosphere, but a dignified event and presentation: 'We want it to be a family affair that can be appreciated by the widest possible audience.' Though the Academy has not yet rejected any ad.

'[The Academy is] preserving the exclusive sanctity of this one show, because there's no other show like it -- bar none,' ABC's Geri Wang, vice president, ad sales, told People. 

Meanwhile, another AP report mentions that ABC, which will broadcast the ceremony in the US, collected a record $1.5 million per 30-second ad. Incidentally, for the same slot, SuperBowl ads collected $2.3 million.