MUMBAI: Marketers have spent almost $720 million during the past 10 years to endorse their products during the Oscar telecast, according to a report released by ad research firm Kantar Media.

The average price of a 30-second unit was the highest, $1.69 million in 2008, and the lowest in 2002, with $1.29 million.

For the 2011 telecast, ABC’s initial asking price for a 30-second spot is around $1.7 million, according to published reports.

Over the past decade, the total ad spend per year reached a high of $81.1 million in 2008 and a low of $61.6 million in 2001. The total for 2010‘s telecast was $70 million.

According to the report, for the past five years, just five companies - Coca-Cola, JC Penney, General Motors, American Express and MasterCard International - accounted for more than 50 per cent of the total ad revenue.

However, due to recession, the number of first time advertisers has increased during the live telecast of the academy awards over the past five years, says Kantar Media.

Forty-eight per cent of advertisers during last year‘s telecast were first-timers, up from 33 per cent the year before and up from 15 percent in 2008.

Last year‘s newcomers included Ameriprise, Estee Lauder, Intel, Kimberly-Clark and Samsung.