LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 3, 2025--
Last night, during the 97th Oscars ®, five major brands—Carnival Cruise Line, Kiehl’s, L’Oréal Paris, MNTN, and Samsung Galaxy—delivered a groundbreaking advertising stunt. A literal stunt. Celebrating Hollywood stunt performers with six high-adrenaline custom commercials airing throughout the show. From skydiving and high falls to fight scenes and crashing through glass windows, the campaign features over 75 real-life stunt performers taking center stage.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250303372411/en/
The six exhilarating ads, starting with one of Samsung Galaxy’s two spots of the evening and followed by Carnival, Kiehl’s, L’Oréal Paris, and MNTN, can be viewed on The Oscars YouTube and Disney Advertising Instagram.
The campaign puts Hollywood’s unsung heroes—the stunt community—front and center on the industry’s biggest night, with professional stunt performers not only executing daring stunts but also playing all the extras in the commercials.
To assemble this all-star roster of stunt performers, the team brought in renowned stunt coordinator, director, and stunt performer Chris Denison. “This campaign is a love letter to stunt performers – the people behind the scenes who so often go unseen and uncelebrated for their contributions to movie making. I’ve just been blown away by the support and enthusiasm from our incredible brand partners, Carnival Cruise Line, Kiehl’s, L’Oréal Paris, MNTN, and Samsung,” said Denison. “From the get-go they’ve been instrumental in helping us put a spotlight on the stunt community and getting as many of these amazingly talented people in front of the camera as possible. Not as a celebrity double or unnamed stunt performer, but as themselves. Seeing it come to life has been one of the most exciting, encouraging experiences of my career as a coordinator, director, and stunt performer.”
Disney Advertising's long-standing history with The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is rooted in the power of storytelling, reimagining the ways brands integrate in and around one of the most engaging live cultural events of the year. The creative campaign purposely spotlights the contributions that stunt performers bring to create movie magic, utilizing the Oscars platform to amplify these incredible, and often unheard, stories on Hollywood's biggest night.
Carnival Cruise Line, Kiehl’s, L’Oréal Paris, MNTN, and Samsung Galaxy came together to honor the artistry and dedication behind the industry’s most thrilling cinematic moments.
Amy Martin Ziegenfuss, Chief Marketing Officer of Carnival Cruise Line:
“Carnival Cruise Line team members aboard our ships are dedicated to making cruise vacations extraordinary for our guests, just as stunt performers make movies more magical. We therefore jumped at the chance to celebrate these incredible stunt professionals on ‘America’s Cruise Line,’ and we’re delighted to partner with outstanding partners to do that through this innovative stunt campaign.”
John Reed, General Manager of Kiehl’s:
“At Kiehl’s, we push our formulas to the extreme—whether it’s testing them on summits, slopes, or even in the midst of a high-octane Hollywood stunt. Our participation in this Oscars campaign is a natural extension of that spirit, celebrating the endurance of both our products and the professionals who bring cinematic adventure to life. With SPF 50+ and Collagen Peptide, Kiehl’s Better Screen UV Serum doesn’t just protect—it corrects, helping to support skin’s firmness while defending against sun damage. We’re proud to spotlight the stunt community and show that Better Screen is built for any scene—on set or in real life.”
Laura Branik, President of L'Oréal Paris USA:
“At L’Oréal Paris, we celebrate the confidence and empowerment that comes with knowing your makeup won’t budge - no matter the conditions. Our spot proved our Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist can keep up with Hollywood’s most intense moments while also honoring the stunt performers who bring them to life. Their talent and resilience deserve recognition, and we’re proud to be part of this innovative stunt.”
Mark Douglas, Founder and CEO of MNTN:
“MNTN is all about premium TV and high-performance marketing, so what better way to show that than by sending a trophy truck barrelling straight through the old way of advertising? This advertising stunt is proof that commercials aren’t just ads, they’re opportunities to tell unforgettable stories and create must-watch moments on the biggest screen in the house.”
Olga Suvorova, Vice President, Mobile Experience Marketing at Samsung Electronics America:
“We believe in pushing the limits of what's possible and enriching unique passions, whether you’re into sports, gaming, or attempting jaw-dropping stunts on camera. While these stories shine a spotlight on the importance of creative stunt work, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series is no stunt. It’s powered by incredible innovations in AI, which allow you to remove unwanted noise from videos using Audio Eraser’s masterful editing capabilities, or prepare for your day with a personalized summary with Now Brief — even if that includes your next fight scene, or more likely, helping you take your productivity and creativity to the next level.”
This Advertising Stunt was brought to you by Disney Advertising, ArtClass Content, Empire Stunts, Kimmelot, Maximum Effort, More Media, and Really Original.
ABOUT CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE
Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is the first cruise line to sail over 100 million guests and is proud to be known as America's Cruise Line, for carrying more Americans and serving more U.S. homeports than any other. Since its founding in 1972, Carnival has continually revolutionized the cruise industry and popularized the cruise vacation as an affordable and fun travel option. Carnival operates from 13 U.S. and two Australian homeports, as well as seasonally from Europe and employs more than 48,000 team members representing 120 nationalities.
Carnival’s fleet of 27 ships reflects an exciting period of growth that continues with the addition of seven ships through 2033: two ships joining as P&O Cruises Australia integrates into Carnival this spring; a fourth and fifth Excel class ship scheduled for 2027 and 2028 respectively; followed by three additional new ships from an innovative new class currently under development. Carnival’s next new guest offering will be the all-new exclusive destination, Celebration Key, set to debut on Grand Bahama next summer.
ABOUT KIEHL’S
Kiehl's Since 1851, a L'Oréal USA brand, was founded as an old-world apothecary in New York's East Village neighborhood over 170 years ago. The brand's unique and extensive background represents a blend of cosmetic, pharmaceutical, herbal, and medicinal knowledge developed and advanced through the generations. Over the years, longtime customer favorite formulations such as Ultra Facial Cream, Micro Dose Retinol Serum, Powerful-Strength Vitamin C Serum, and new formulations such as Ultra Body Cream, Better Screen UV Serum, and Dermatologist Solutions have been created with uniquely efficacious, natural ingredients and the education and knowledge culled from generations of rigorous testing, research, and requests from customers.
ABOUT L’OREAL PARIS
L'Oréal Paris is the world's leading beauty brand, dedicated to empowering women and making the best of luxury beauty accessible to everyone. The brand's signature tagline, "Because I'm Worth It," was born in the United States in 1973 to celebrate the beauty and intrinsic self-worth of women, and for more than 100 years, L'Oréal Paris has been providing women around the world with products in four major beauty categories: hair color, haircare, skincare and cosmetics.
ABOUT MNTN
MNTN is the Hardest Working Software in Television™, bringing unrivaled performance and simplicity to Connected TV advertising. Our self-serve technology makes running TV ads as easy as search and social and helps brands drive measurable conversions, revenue, site visits, and more. MNTN was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and Next Big Things in Tech and was recently featured on the cover of INC’s Best in Business Issue. For more information, please visit mntn.com.
ABOUT SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, N.J., Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA) is a leader in mobile technologies, consumer electronics, home appliances and enterprise solutions. The company pushes beyond the limits of today’s technology to provide groundbreaking connected experiences across its large portfolio of products and services, including mobile devices, home appliances, home entertainment, 5G networks, and digital displays. As EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Corporate Commitment Partner, SEA is dedicated to making a positive impact on the environment through its eco-conscious products, practices and operations. To learn more and to get involved, visit Samsung.com. For the latest news, visit news.samsung.com/us and follow @SamsungNewsUS. SEA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
ABOUT DISNEY ADVERTISING
Disney Advertising is responsible for advertising sales and integrated marketing for The Walt Disney Company’s (NYSE: DIS) entertainment and sports offerings through linear, digital, social, audio and ad-supported streaming businesses. This includes ABC, ABC News, Disney+, Disney Channels Worldwide, Disney Digital, ESPN Networks, ESPN+, Freeform, FX, National Geographic, Hulu, and its eight ABC-owned local stations.
(Graphic: Business Wire)
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic Republic.
Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “All options remain on the table for the president.”
Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The sound of gunfire faded Thursday in the capital, Tehran. The country closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
Here is the latest:
Masih Alinejad, one of the most vocal Iranian dissidents in the U.S., accused the United Nations and the Security Council of failing “to respond with the urgency this moment demands” at the emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Thursday.
In October, two purported Russian mobsters were each sentenced to 25 years behind bars for hiring a hitman to kill Alinejad at her Brooklyn home on behalf of the Iranian government.
Sitting across the table from the Iranian ambassador to the U.N., Alinejad, who came after an invitation from the U.S., said that “the members of this body have forgotten the privilege and responsibility of sitting in this room.”
Ahead of the emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Secretary-General António Guterres
spoke by phone to discuss the recent deadly protests and Iran’s request for the world body to do more to condemn what they call foreign influence in the Islamic Republic, according to a readout of the call posted on Iranian state TV.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported that Araghchi implored the top U.N. official to live up to the “serious expectation” that Iran’s government and its people have of the U.N.s’ role in condemning what the officials called “illegal U.S. interventions against Iran.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that U.S. President Donald Trump and his team had communicated to Iranian officials that there would be “grave consequences” if killing continues against protesters in Iran.
“The president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday, were halted,” she said.
But Trump continues closely watching the situation, she said.
“All options remain on the table for the president,” Leavitt said.
Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group, said on Thursday that “criminal gangs” were responsible for the situation in Iran, accusing them of carrying out an “American-Israeli” scheme.
“Criminal gangs in Iran killed Iranian citizens, security forces and burned mosques,” he said without providing evidence. “What’s being committed by criminal gangs in Iran is horrific, bearing an American stamp as it includes slaughter and burning some people alive.”
He also said that the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Iran to create a crisis leading to the current issues in the country with the end goal of controlling Iran.
Yet he said the U.S. has “failed in Iran” and that Iranians “will not yield to America.”
The president of the European Union’s executive arm says the 27-member bloc is looking to strengthen sanctions against Iran as ordinary Iranians continue their protests against Iran’s theocratic government.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday following a meeting of the EU’s commissioners in Limassol, Cyprus that current sanctions against Iran are “weakening the regime.”
Von der Leyen said that the EU is looking to sanction individual Iranians —apart from those who belong to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard — who “are responsible for the atrocities.”
She added that the people of Iran who are “bravely fighting for a change” have the EU’s “full political support.”
Canada’s foreign minister says a Canadian citizen has died in Iran “at the hands of the Iranian authorities.”
“Peaceful protests by the Iranian people — asking that their voices be heard in the face of the Iranian regime’s repression and ongoing human rights violations — has led the regime to flagrantly disregard human life,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand posted on social media Thursday.
“This violence must end. Canada condemns and calls for an immediate end to the Iranian regime’s violence,” she added.
Anand said consular officials are in contact with the victim’s family in Canada. She did not provide details.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced Thursday that a local staff member was killed and several others were wounded during the deadly protests in Iran over the weekend.
Amir Ali Latifi, an Iranian Red Crescent Society worker, was working in the country’s Gillan province on Jan. 10 when he was killed “in the line of duty,” the organization said in a statement.
“The IFRC is deeply concerned about the consequences of the ongoing unrest on the people of Iran and is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Iranian Red Crescent Society,” the statement continued.
U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed as “good news” reports that the death sentence has been lifted for an Iranian shopkeeper arrested in a violent crackdown on protests.
Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani had said he faced imminent execution.
Trump posed Thursday on his Truth Social site: “FoxNews: ‘Iranian protester will no longer be sentenced to death after President Trump’s warnings. Likewise others.’ This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!”
Iranian state media denied Soltani had been condemned to death. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.
Trump sent tensions soaring this week by pledging that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters and urging them to continue demonstrating against authorities in the Islamic Republic.
On Wednesday Trump signaled a possible de-escalation, saying he had been told that “the killing in Iran is stopping.”
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union’s main foreign policy chief said the G7 members were “gravely concerned” by the developments surrounding the protests, and that they “strongly oppose the intensification of the Iranian authorities’ brutal repression of the Iranian people.”
The statement, published on the EU’s website Thursday, said the G7 were “deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries” and condemned “the deliberate use of violence” by Iranian security forces against protesters.
The G7 members “remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations,” the statement said.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.
“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.
“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”
“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”
Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.
Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.
Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.
Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.
Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,
Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.
“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.
Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.
Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.
The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.
Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.
A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.
Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.
State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.
“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.
“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.
Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.
Women cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
