The first Academy Awards ceremony was in 1929—soon after movies began to include dialogue—making the Oscars almost as old as talking pictures themselves. Many other awards ceremonies, including the Golden Globes (launched in 1944) and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (1995), followed in the Academy Awards' footsteps, and now their ceremonies lead up to the big one every year. The Oscars combine a rich history, high-quality films, and Tinsel Town glamour to reflect a classic example of a Hollywood event.

With such a large audience—the Oscars attracted nearly 39 million viewers last year—and a long, rich history, we wanted to see whether the legacy of the Academy Awards comes through on the web.

Movies, Stars, Fashion, and Glamour Oscar.com, the site for the awards (as opposed to Oscars.org, the site for AMPAS), is full of glittery imagery that evokes an exciting awards show. In case you didn't know much about the Oscars—like the fact that the ceremony is held in the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood—the website is very informative, with a section on the history of the awards, a biography for this year's host, Ellen DeGeneres, and (of course) a list of all the nominees.

The Academy Awards brand, which is based on the high quality of the films involved and the elegance of the event, comes through on the website in many different ways. To start, the color scheme—red and gold—is regal and reminiscent of the actual event's red carpet and gold statuettes. Showing how much these movies have infiltrated our lives, various sections of the website feature famous quotes from films, which are also incorporated into this year's Oscars poster.

The poster includes the Oscar statuette, which is a registered trademark of the AMPAS and a well-known symbol of the event, in addition to those famous quotes. A commercial for the event, which is available on Oscar.com, summarizes what the Academy is trying to say with its site, poster, and brand. It includes clips of average people reciting the familiar lines, showing how entrenched movies are in popular culture. The ad concludes with a tagline that sums up the reputation of this awards ceremony: "It's not just the movies; it's the Oscars."

But while the Academy takes pride in choosing high-quality films and being seen as very classy and elegant, the downside is that—compared with other events like the MTV Movie Awards, where viewers vote for the winners—the Oscars can seem a bit inaccessible and conservative to the average viewer. But the website breaks down that stereotype, with features like the aforementioned "Road to the Oscars" videos, a contest to predict the winners, and interactive online games.

While the movies may be the focus of the evening, one can't forget that fashion also takes center stage—or at least center carpet—on Oscar night. Oscar.com takes advantage of the glamorous red-carpet fashion by including galleries of both men's and women's fashion, as well as a look back at the outfits at previous Oscars shows dating back to the 1930s. The fashion features combine two of the Oscar's main selling points: its history and glamour. Showcasing these fashions reminds viewers of the celebrated past of the awards show (did you see Bette Davis' Oscar-night outfit from 1936?) as well as the expensive dresses, jewelry, and accessories that the stars bring out for the big night.

The Academy Awards ceremony is arguably the biggest awards show of the year. So, how does Oscar.com compare to the websites for other awards shows? The sites for the Golden Globes, the Directors Guild Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards don't have as many features, like interactive games and blogs, but they do have necessary information and communicate the shows' brands online. Overall, however, Oscar.com does the best in incorporating the brand of the awards ceremony in creative ways and by attracting new viewers with videos and interactive sections. In fact, maybe the Academy should award itself an Oscar in a new category: Best Web Presence by an Awards Show.