During the 2023 Oscars last night, a pair of documentary spots hailed ‘Otto Desć’ as a Hollywood legend.
Actor Ron Perlman, actor and director Elizabeth Banks, VFK supervisor Paul Lambert and cinematographer Mandy Walker, all praised the so-called icon.
Later in the evening, however, it was revealed that the man behind ‘everyone’s favourite film’ – Otto Desć – was in fact Autodesk, the software company that supplies VFX for many feature films produced throughout Hollywood.
The spoof campaign was produced by none other than Ryan Reynolds and his advertising firm Maximum Effort, with help from Jimmy Kimmel’s company Kimmelot.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the campaign was filmed in late February and delivered in one week.
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“Maximum Effort loves playing with the cultural landscape, and the Oscars are a major cultural event,” Reynolds said. “Autodesk has been a secret weapon for Hollywood’s artists for decades, and what better way to highlight that than to create a fake man of vaguely Germanic descent to receive an award that doesn’t exist?
“If you’re thinking Otto Desć looks suspiciously like Academy Award nominee and Free Guy VFX supervisor Swen Gillberg, you’d be wrong. No further questions.”
Reynold’s agency Maximum Effort recently produced a campaign for Mint Mobile, exploring the use of AI tech Chat GPT in helping create an advertisement.
Autodesk chief marketing officer Dara Treseder added: “Autodesk is how the world gets designed and made — including the beautiful films that delight and inspire us all. The Oscars are a night to celebrate the biggest names in Hollywood, so we’re thrilled to celebrate the design and technology from Autodesk that makes this magic possible in such a fun and creative way. And with this campaign, we’re re-introducing our inspiring company tagline — two words that effectively say it all: Make Anything.
“I’m grateful to have worked with our agency partner, Ryan Reynold’s Maximum Effort, to tell the incredible story of Autodesk’s impact — both on the big screen, and in the world.”
