Oscars 2014, As Twitted

It's been said that the Academy Awards are the "Super Bowl for Women," at least when it comes to marketing.  I don't necessarily see it that way, given what we all tweeted about at my Twitter party last night at #OscarExp.  It's pop culture at its finest, no matter who you are.

Sure, there was #IWantThatHair from Pantene, the "statement necklace" trend on the red carpet, and the Wrap Dress from DVF for American Hustle (remember those?!?).   Sure that stuff has hitting the women, and some of us men too.

But to my eye, the "winners" crossed gender boundaries, across the board.

First we had the winning color blue.  The guys were wearing blue tuxes like there's no tomorrow, and then in walks Ellen in a blue tux to open the show.  The only other tux color to compete was white, and sure enough Ellen changed into a white tux half way into the show.  Stealing the show, and the award for Best Supporting Actress, was Lupita with her version of a #NairobiBlue dress.  Fabulous beyond belief.

Next was Mom.  Never has Mom been more in fashion, with celeb after celeb taking their Mom as their date and talking her up.  Of course no one did it better than award winner Jared Leto who honored his Mom with his win ... not a dry eye in the house.  He deserved the win and so did his Mom.

But the moment of the night came when Ellen shot the "selfie of the century in an attempt to get the most retweeted photo ever into the Guinness Book of World Records.  She certainly succeeded, and created a pop culture moment at the same time.  SO MUCH FUN!

As far as the brands,  shout outs go to:

American Express Everyday credit card, for "best use of a celebrity:"

"Best use of a movie theme" to introduce a new product goes to Pepsi Mini:

But the best of the best IMHO goes to Cadillac for "best insights".  The story around the American work ethic and why that makes us so competitive really struck home for me.  The brand had not one but two spots that scored for me, this one about all the magic that happens in the American garage:

"Best moment of the night" goes to emerging brand Jared Leto, not only for his win (what a performance!) but also for his acceptance speech.  An amazing guy.

Finally, I have to give a high five to Pink, the brand.  "Over the Rainbow" has been sung a million times by a million people, and she was still able to give us all a wow.  She gets "best performance."

It was one of the best Oscars in my memory.  Thank you to the Academy!

What's your experience?  JIM.

Note that this post also appears on Huffington Post.