Ellen could improvise. She could put people at ease.
It was Oscars Sunday. Todd Pendleton, riding on Samsung’s massive
sponsorship, showed up with invitation in hand at the Dolby Theatre in a
tuxedo and gray checkered bow tie with his wife, stopping to pose for the
photographers roaming the entrance, making his way along the red carpet
where the glitterati gathered. He entered the auditorium and took his seat.
Some 43 million people had tuned in to the Oscars, the most-watched
entertainment telecast in a decade.
“We know that the most important thing in life is love and friendship
and family,” Ellen said in her opening monologue, “and if people don’t have
those things, well, then, they usually get into show business.”
She mingled among the audience, ordering impromptu delivery from
Big Mama’s & Papa’s Pizzeria, bringing onto the show the deliveryman,
Edgar, whom she later called her “new best friend,” and roaming the aisles
and serving up greasy slices to tuxedo-wearing celebrities. Cameras were
conveniently not looking when Harrison Ford splattered tomato sauce on
his white dress shirt.
“Happy” singer Pharrell Williams thankfully hadn’t forgotten his
bulging bowler hat—deep enough to hold an equally deep tip—which Ellen
took and passed around for tips. She eventually handed the pizza man a
$1,000 gratuity.
“Harvey!” Ellen shouted across the theater for producer Harvey
Weinstein, looking for his tip. “No pressure, only a billion people
watching!”
After a commercial break, she came out onstage as Glinda the Good
Witch from The Wizard of Oz in a fluffy pink dress: “You have the
power...,” she said in the character’s motherly alto, waving her wand,
before dropping the act midsentence. “Oh, never mind.”
“For those not at the event, we had a conference room in a hotel where
everyone was camped out, as well as conference rooms in the various
offices,” said a marketer on Pendleton’s team. They monitored social-
media reactions and took note of the positive reactions to Samsung’s
advertising.
Then, after another commercial break, the camera opened on Ellen,
standing in the audience.
“Meryl, here’s my idea, okay?” Ellen DeGeneres dawdled down the
aisle, smartphone in hand, shooting zingers at the stars before she arrived at