iPhone, Wii guests on stage at this year's Oscars
By Ryan Block 
posted Feb 25th 2008 12:17AM
posted Feb 25th 2008 12:17AM
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Lies! You can't flip the video playback in the iPhone unless its a Quicktime movie on the internet!
i believe you have confused us with someone who cares...
I guess if you are non technical, the iPhone is a great device.
You know you have a big TV when the Wii tennis players are bigger than you.
Jon Stewart is funny because he hates President Bush.
I see what you did there.
Everybody's funny.
Above me is one of the most hilarious comment/reply's EVER.
Great work guys, absolutely hilarious.
Engadget is a place to discuss gadgets not politics.
It's funny how everyone thinks Bford is pro-bush when he is just pointing out Jon Stewards lack of talent. If Jon Stewart has a smidgen of Colbert's funny, he would be watchable...
Or maybe we can just discuss both?...
Stewart produces and writes for Colbert...
Engadgetics!
I missed that part, who was the girl that was playing with him? Anyone famous?
Is it anybody? Is it anybody? Nah, it's nobody. Throw ya stones!
Seriously, anyone? I'm curious too.
It was the girl who sang the August Rush song, Jamia Simone Nash.
it was the girl who sang one of the nominated songs. i could do more research here but i'm lazy.
I wonder how much Apple and Nintendo coughed up for this.
The money they used to make those great products.
Am I the only one that gets physically sick whenever tv shows or events shove a product in your face as a form of subliminal advertising, like you're some kind of infant or idiot and woun't notice?
Yes, Legend, you are. :P
Wii is a fun product that I am sure everyone at the Oscars enjoyed seeing. And on that huge screen, playing right in front it, would have been a very impressive sight. Wii Tennis wasn't so much product placement as it was a game of tennis for all to enjoy. Why do people have to be so cynical about these kind of things?!
@ LEGENDZ28
Then don't watch it.
>> Broadcasters have every right to put as much advertising as they like in their programming.
>> You have every right as a viewer to chose not to watch.
Quit complaining. ABC is a company that needs to make money, they don't just put out programming for free out of the goodness of their hearts.
Why don't you a9.com it?
Actually Kyran he isn't (no smiley face)
I too get an uneasy feeling when product placement is so fricken obvious that it comes off as awkward and crude - like some kids hour cigarette commercial from the 1950s.
@legend... I didn't take it as blatant advertising. It was more a take on pop culture, as the iPhone and the Wii are pretty popular in a lot of settings. Even non-techie friends of mine talk about the Wii and people with iPhone, amongst other items that dominate the current market.
i'm with Legend and Fraggie.Rock... sorry all others who think we're just being cynical, but product placements like this aren't sexy at all, it's quite low. it's embarrassing really.
"I didn't take it as blatant advertising. It was more a take on pop culture, as the iPhone and the Wii are pretty popular in a lot of settings. Even non-techie friends of mine talk about the Wii and people with iPhone, amongst other items that dominate the current market."
um, no.
I'm sure your fanboy instincts make you say that, but those of us who study advertising know full well that products DO NOT just appear during an event like the Oscars, where the going rate for a 30-second ad is a shift-load of cash, for of some BS reason like some "take on pop culture".
From the dresses the stars wear, to any logo or product you see, there were lots of cash to change hands to get that face time. You just cant put this stuff on screen without the permission of the company that made it.
This wasn't product placement. I don't think apple would have paid him to make fun of cell phone users and watching movies on them. It was such a joke, the fact he said he was watching "Lawrence of Arabia," which is one of the widest movies ever made, you probably couldn't see anything. I think he was clearly making fun of our society now. I don't know a single person who would run out and buy an iPhone now because his "advertising" message was "my phone screen is so small I can't make out the characters in the movie I'm trying to watch"... yeah I really want an iPhone now. If it was an apple product placement, i'm sure they would have come up with a better idea than taking a stab at its product and users.
Fred:
Except that this was not a positive mention of the iPhone. He was clearly making fun of the experience of watching movies on it. He was invoking this David Lynch video that made the rounds in film circles a few months ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKiIroiCvZ0
No, there's no such thing as bad publicity, but if Apple were *paying* for this, you don't think they would have expected a little more positive of a message?
Sorry Fred, I'm with Starry and Jeff on this one (and thanks to both for mentioning the negative jab on the iPhone watching movies).
Jon Stewart is a comic and was going for laughs, not money.
The gowns and clothing the stars wore was product placement, though... which everyone knows that.
You guys can't be this blind. It doesn't matter what John Stewart is saying about the phone because actions speak so much louder than words. The fact is, the Wii and iPhone are on stage at the Academy Awards. The message is clear. These objects are very popular and recognized by the rich and famous. It would ludicrous to give Apple and Nintendo that sort of publicity for free. They aren't short of ideas for skits.
You guys can't be this blind. It doesn't matter what John Stewart is saying about the phone because actions speak so much louder than words. The fact is, the Wii and iPhone are on stage at the Academy Awards. The message is clear. These objects are very popular and recognized by the rich and famous. It would ludicrous to give Apple and Nintendo that sort of publicity for free. They aren't short of ideas for skits.
I didnt see the Wii part, I didnt really watch the show like that, but I did notice the iPhone product placement. At first you couldnt tell what phone he was playing with, but when he turned it to the side, the camera zoomed in so you could see the apple logo..pretty obvious to me. I would assume they paid a little more than they would for a regular commercial. people expect commercials and use commercial breaks for bathroom trips and such. product placements like that are more gorrilla style marketing and would be more saught after for events like the oscars and the super bowl.
Why wasn't he playing an xbox360? doesn't he know the game ownership tie ratio is 7.63?? lol
i was wondering how long till engadget made a comment about this :P
and by ryan's timestamp, id put it at 45 mins :P
bit slow eh ryan? lol. jk.
The girl was the one singing in the August Rush right?
And the Wii Tennis was great, your right, you know your TV is the right size when your characters are as big as you are
wheres the video?
I want to play Wii tennis on the giant screen.
I think you mean, "Engadget, I understand the decision you made not to post ABC's Oscar broadcast, thus avoiding a costly and unncessary lawsuit." Copyright law: learn it, love it, live it.
@Ryan Block: Copyright law: Break it early and often; otherwise, how will we know when it works?
It's on Gizmodo, where they have balls.
Go to gizmodo, where they have balls in their mouth.
They should have used a Zune or a Blackberry or Palm or HTC or LG, but I can see why they didn't. None of them are real breakthrough devices. Just another wannabe devices.
Um, what, pray tell, is a Palm a "wannabe" of? It essentially invented/defined the entire handheld product category back in 1996.
So how is that an argument they should've used them? Or... should I have said "I see what you did there" for the second time in this post which would just be tacky really.
@craig: and never changed again...
@ Carig
Palm didnt invent nor define the entire handheld category, Apple came out with the Newton in 1993 - a full 3 years before Palm.
If anything Apple is responsible for much or the inventing and defining. What they were able to do was push it into mass market - but thats more of a result of Palms compatibility with PCs than anything else.
By the way the only reason Palm is even around anymore is because of the smart people at Handspring - they actually innovated and combined the Palm OS with a cell phone. Palm later bought out Handspring and their Treo cell phone and guess what - haven't done much with it since.
I can have much respect for Palm when they have basically given up in the marketplace. Handspring made it clear that there were some very smart and imaginative people working on the Palm platform - the fact that nothing has come from Palm since shows how poorly the company is run.
@Craig
Do a little bit of research first will you. The Newton was light years ahead of its time. Which some say was the cause of its demise. Too much technology for the time. People could not assimilate to a new type of computing platform, specially that advanced.
Wait, in all the commercials and stuff, the iPhone is turned to the Left (counter clockwise) when you're using it to view widescreen.
He on the other hand, has it turned Clockwise. (obviously he wasn't really using it... in the show he said he's watching Lawrence of Arabia)
Gawd. I hate the iPhone and I'm the only one that noticed this?
Speaking as an owner of an iPod Touch, which I would assume works the same, for a lot of things you can turn the iPod both ways. Safari for sure, and CoverFlow as well.
Of course, if that was sarcasm...well done, well done. Far too much complaining. I think it was just a funny thing.
I'm an iPhone owner and just like split said you can turn it either way for just about everything. Nxtiak you're right about the videos but again, I'm pretty sure Jon having the phone up there was just to joke around. Let's relax people. I don't know what the iPhone did to deserve such hate from you nxtiak but i'm sure it's really sorry.
I think you're just the only one who cared.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZFtTupOMFBA
theres him playing wii
talk about amazing free advertisement for nintendo there
I wouldn't be so sure it's free.
Those b*stards! Flaunting something no one can seem to get (and by that I mean the Wii)... and on a giant screen too.
And playing the best game for it none the less.
Canadians continue to suffer from iPhone-scurvy. No iPhone's for us still....
all your base belong to ABC?
[quote]all your base belong to ABC?[/quote]
You just repeat things that you think are cool, don't you?
The quote is: All your [possession] _are_ belong to [owner].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base_are_belong_to_us
Learn your memes.
ahahahahahahahahaha i know what the quote is, i just figured i'd put something random down and see who would respond.
i never noticed how hairy Jon Stewards Arms are *struckwithfear*
What an unpleasant exhibition of vile corporate backslapping product placement.
tell us how you really feel
or... here's another reply: yeah cuz i thought ABC was like a non-profit and stuff!
Which makes me wonder why you are watching the Oscars, a celebration of all things Hollywood (which is these days one giant product placement).
In all honesty, most of the jokes/product placements were topical. There was only a 3.5 month strike regarding the share of revenue from the movies you can put on your iPhone (and yes, other devices).
And if Nintendo really wanted to waste the money to promote a product it can't keep on the shelves, it's their loss.
Yea, this is a great way to market to kids! I mean, the kids never heard of a Wii, and you know how kids love 3 1/2 hr. award shows!
Jon Stewart works for Engadget! I knew it all along!
I've been a Wii owner for over a year now and I CAN NOT BELIEVE that Nintendo would spend money advertising their product! It's bad enough they apparently spend money on TV spots, but how DARE they place an ad into one of the most commercialized "awards ceremonies" in America! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. I AM RETURNING MY WII TOMORROW, THEN THEY'LL BE SORRY!
You can't return your Wii tomorrow/today just because of the advert. Besides the return grace period is over so you own the damn Wii...lol Or just go to craiglist and see if someone wants to exchange PS3 with you for your Wii or just say BS and put it on ebay for sale. You might make more $$ and be happy after.. :D
I really hope that was sarcasm. I seriously can't tell.
"HOW DARE" they? They can advertise their crap all they want too, even if they can't keep up with demand. I kind of doubt they would waste money on this publicity when their Wii is still selling out. It is possible that Jon Stewart just wanted to play Wii on the giant screen. I know I would if I had access to a huge giant screen and was on live tv.
You return your Wii tomorrow, Nintendo wont even notice.
You two really can't tell if that was sarcasm? You guys need to go back to school ;p
Sweet, two different people just agreed with me and attacked me at the same time.
Thank you phanbouy for using common sense.
Apparently daycare centers have starting adding Fisher Price My First PCs starring Vista Basic, Kidz Edishun
oh, no! Someine is /wrong/ on the Internet!
http://xkcd.com/386/
(I liked the pop culture references--I prefer them to political commentary.)
nonsequitur?
Is Engadget serious?
Who cares about 2007 now?
Those end of the year award shows work in mid-December or early-January. Mid-January at the latest. But the end of February and pushing on into March? Are you kidding me?
Product placement doesn't mean the product has become popular. I think my iPhone is OK, but not great.
Jon Stewart ripped the Wii tennis skit from Conan O'Brien.
This proves O'Brien made Stewart!
I think the comment from "tbutters" is misplaced...but anyways...
Nice to see another O'Brien fan. It would have been sweet if it was Stewart and O'Brien playing Wii tennis!
Didn't Conan just host an award show recently??
yeah, its the girl who performed the song from august rush that was nominated for best song; she performed it earlier in the program. Her name escapes me; something like "Jamiya"
What a great laugh. Ya the Wii thing was corny and predictable, but still pretty funny. However, Jon Stewart totally trashes the iPhone. Gotta love how he is holding it vertically, then mentions he is watching LoA, and then says that one can only get the real experience by watching it in widescreen while rotating the iPhone. Jon's expression is priceless, like Oh Ya, now I'm reeeaaallllly getting the widescreen theater experience on this tiny little iPhone screen. The context being the Oscars, makes it even funnier.
It's because LoA is the widest movie ever made. HE was mking fun of the movie.
@7on
Huh? He was not making fun of the movie, he was making fun of watching such a great movie, meant to be watched on the big screen, on such a tiny screen.
Poster Jomolungma makes an even better point about the joke being about the writers actually striking over the whole idea. Even funnier yet!
I think everyone is missing the hidden joke here... the writers' strike was largely about dividing up the royalties from digital distribution, like iTunes movies... I'm pretty sure that Stewart was making a joke here, pointing out that the idea of watching one of the grandest, largest films to ever hit the BIG screen on something as small as an iPhone is so ludicrous that striking over it for so long is probably a bit silly
I find it funny that people are complaining about product placement for the Oscars and then proclaiming how clever they are that they noticed it. Apparently y'all have not noticed that the show itself is a big advertisement for the movie industry. If you are really so anti-advertising, you are a fool for just watching the show.
I've got both and my three-year-old sister said "Hey, your iPhone and Wii won the Oscars."
Hmmm. My Wii doesn't look that good on my 65" TV. :(
Neither Nintendo or Microsoft were official sponsors of the Academy Awards. A list of sponsors only included American Express, Coca-Cola, General Motors, L’Oréal, Mars, Mastercard, McDonald’s, J.C. Penney, ad firm Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. I am curious how Microsoft and Nintendo managed to sneak their way on the show.
I guess, good for them. They got the perfect promotion time and waved the reported $1.8 million advertising fee. The commercials during the Oscars are only second to the Super Bowl in price.
http://crazymonkey909.wordpress.com/
WOW, its Nintendo and APPLE, not Microsoft.
is that blog you're spamming as wrong as your comment?
Okay, I hope you understood that Jon Stewart was making fun of watching movies on the iPhone. The screen (as "big" and "cool" as it is) is still WAY to small to have any real cinematic experience.
Just to correct something stated on the first page (2/25 9:52 AM) , 'Lawrence of Arabia' is not "one of the widest movies ever made." That was shot in Super Panavision 70, best shown via 70mm prints on big screens where the extra large negative and print yield superlative images that digital cinema can so far only dream of. But in terms of aspect ratio it's 2.21 : 1, actually a tad less wide in terms of shape than 35mm "Scope" films. Leaving aside multi film systems like Cinerama and Circlevision the widest of the widescreen films would have been those in Ultra Panavision 70 (also called MGM Camera 65 on a few titles): 2.76 : 1 aspect ratio. 'Ben Hur' would be such a film.
Ryan, where's the follow up to this story?
Palm Foleo: the exclusive first and final hands-on
Sony has been doing this for years. But threw MTV cribs and shit with rappers. Yo g dizzle fresh, I gots dis new playstation back at da crib playa.