After actors and writers boycotted last year’s strike-impacted Upfronts, it’s been great seeing so many of our favorite stars return to the presentation stage. Across Amazon, TelevisaUnivision, and Disney’s three events, Day 2 of this year’s presentations was as star-studded as any day of pre-strike, pre-COVID Upfronts.
Amazon had Alicia Keys, Jake Gyllenhaal, Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, and more. Univision offered a Shakira-led presentation of Latin entertainers. And Disney rolled out an entire cavalcade of Mouse-affiliated stars — Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Quinta Brunson, Kerry Washington, Kim Kardashian, and Jimmy Kimmel, among them.
It was just like old times, and further proof that as our industry adapts to rapid change, great stories and bright stars never go out of style.
Here’s what else stood out to us on Day 2 of the 2024 Upfronts.
Amazon made a big splash in its Upfronts debut, rolling out a steady stream of new, original content to complement a growing portfolio of scripted series, movies, and live sports — which already includes hits like Reacher, Road House, The Boys, and the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package. The line was out the door, literally, but worth the wait.
Amazon has long been considered a sleeping giant of the TV ad world due to its unique insight into consumer shopping behavior, its technical expertise, and its access to over 100 million U.S. consumers with Amazon Prime subscriptions. When the company debuted its ads tier at the beginning of this year, it was clear that it only needed to beef up its content offerings to be a major force in our space.
At this year’s Upfronts, the retail giant — or rather the retail, cloud-computing, and media giant — made clear that it’s taking this mission very seriously. Amazon announced a new romantic comedy film starring Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell, an intriguing Tomb Raider TV series helmed by Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, a spy action dramedy starring Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer, and a Legally Blonde prequel series from Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine.
All this complements an increasingly robust live sports portfolio that includes the NFL’s Thursday Night Football and the returning Black Friday game, the WNBA, the NWSL, and starting in 2025, NASCAR. Amazon also previewed new sports documentaries on Roger Federer and Dale Earnhardt, announced on-stage by Federer and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
The Upfronts upshot? Amazon is aiming to deliver what VP of Global Ad Sales Alan Moss described as “full-funnel advertising, at scale, for everyone,” through a combination of engaging content and a data-rich platform that optimizes performance as campaigns progress. (By the way, the recent hiring of advertising veteran Krishan Bhatia was a brilliant move by Amazon.)
That’s a promising opportunity, and I’m betting advertisers will be interested to see if Amazon can fulfill it.
“It’s clear that Latinos are the swing vote in this upcoming election. And for marketers, they’re the swing vote for your brand.”
That was the message from TelevisaUnivision President of Advertising Sales and Marketing Donna Speciale in a colorful, enthusiastic presentation that urged marketers to reap the benefits of investing in consistent, authentic messaging to Latino audiences.
Fronted by an upbeat song-and-dance number featuring Broadway performers, TelevisaUnivision highlighted its dominance of U.S. soccer viewership and unique ability to connect advertisers with Latin audiences across a portfolio of scripted, reality, and sports content on its TV networks and ViX streaming platform. Shakira also made an appearance to announce that her song Puntería would be the official theme of Univision’s coverage of the Copa América soccer tournament this summer.
As noted earlier, TelevisaUnivision used the presentation to make the case for equity in TV advertising. Presenters noted that while 20% of the U.S. population is Hispanic, advertisers spend just 2% of their media budgets to reach them. To address the undercounting and underrepresentation of Latin audiences, the company is calling for quicker adoption of Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement tools.
Speaking of measurement, our ears were buzzing as Speciale announced an expansion of Univison’s partnership with EDO for cross-platform, outcomes measurement. We’re looking forward to continuing our work to help Univision measure precisely how effective its ads are in engaging Latin audiences.
CEO Bob Iger may have kicked off Disney’s Upfront presentation, but late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s closing monologue summed it up best: The company’s sales pitch could have been “Bippity boppity, we own everything.”
As Homer (Simpson) once said, “It’s funny ‘cause it’s true.” The breadth and depth of Disney’s content portfolio was unmistakable during its event. Whether it was ESPN’s collection of live sports, Hulu favorites like The Bear (the in-room-only Season 3 trailer and treats were a nice touch), or broadcast successes like Abbott Elementary, Disney made clear that it’s not taking a backseat to anyone in the content arms race.
Newly announced additions to Disney’s arsenal included more Star Wars, a bevy of new Marvel series (Daredevil!), a Bruce Springsteen concert film and documentary, a Wizards of Waverly Place spin-off, and the on-stage debut of new Monday Night Football commentator and former Philadelphia Eagles lineman Jason Kelce. The event featured more stars and celebrities than we’ve got space to name and perhaps more than I can remember.
Above all else, Disney used its platform to reinforce its brand identity as one of our most celebrated storytellers. As Disney Advertising President Rita Ferro explained, it’s the connections forged by their storytelling that inspire half of the world’s population to engage with Disney’s properties daily. (As an aside, we all loved seeing an animated Rita talking with Peter and Brian from The Family Guy.)
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That’s all for Day 2’s dispatch. We’re looking forward to what WBD, Netflix, and YouTube have in store for the third and final day of the 2024 Upfronts. But while the presentations and celebrations are filling the week, we’re sharpening our pencils for the kickoff of a fascinating planning season.