13th Annual Shorty Awards Categories

The Shorty Awards honor the talented agencies, brands, and industry leaders behind the best and most innovative work on social media and digital channels, campaigns, websites and applications.

By Campaign
By Design
By Industry
By Overall Presence
Campaign by Platform
Content and Media
Influencer & Celebrity Brand Partnership
Strategy & Engagement
Video by Platform
Video Content
Virtual
Websites & Apps

From the 8th Annual Shorty Awards Best Influencer and Celebrity Campaign

This award honors the best integration of an influencer, celebrity or ambassador as part of a social media marketing campaign. Integrations may include social profile takeovers, live hangouts, Twitter chats and viral video marketing campaigns among others.

See previous winners and honorees here.

Winner

Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
winner
My Tales of Whisky Yule Log
1. Drive cultural relevance to emphasize that single malt whisky is an approachable category for the younger consumer2. Recruit new, younger single malt whisky consumers by inserting the brand into social conversation 3. Drive content views and increase YouTube channel subscribers

Finalists

Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
silver
Apartments.com: #MovinOnUp
We created the #MovinOnUp social campaign to assist in building buzz around Apartments.com's first Super Bowl commercial. We wanted to create a campaign in the weeks leading up to the big game that would build awareness for our young brand, as well as garner pre-game video views and create social conversation volume. As part of our campaign, we wa…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
bronze
"I Am A Witness" Bullying Prevention Campaign
Eighty eight percent of teens that use social media report witnessing others being mean or cruel on social networking sites. There are a lot of anti-bullying efforts speaking to bullies and victims, but, one key audience is rarely targeted: those who are witnesses. Ad Council's "I Am A Witness" campaign activates the "silent majority" of teens who…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
bronze
Molly Hartley's Social Media Exorcism
Fox Home Entertainment tasked Digital Media Management with creating a social influencer campaign that would generate awareness for the straight to digital HD film in addition to captivating Fox's existing audience of horror movie fans during the lead-up to Halloween.
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
#LeftSwipeDat
truth is a non-profit brand that combats teen smoking. Smoking is being re-glamorized in pop culture. There's been a rise of smoking in movies and in video games, and emerging tobacco products like hookahs and little cigars are getting a lot of attention. So we needed to get people talking about smoking as an issue. Smoking is an issue. It's still…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
El Streaker
In order to present DishLATINO as the ultimate provider of the world's best soccer matches, and to increase subscriptions, drive brand engagement, and achieve earned media coverage, we had to position DishLATINO as the place for those who cannot live without soccer. The major challenges associated with the campaign were all the noise in the Hispan…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
Fostering Brand Loyalty via Fútbol – How MasterCard Owned Copa America 2015
Our objective was to amplify the MasterCard's sponsorship of Copa América Chile 2015, the biggest fútbol event of the year in Latin America. The Axis Agency was tasked with leveraging the brand's owned digital and social media channels, in order to garner consumer engagement and promote MasterCard offers, experiences and cross-border transactions.…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
How HSN Took 1 Million+ People to the Serena Williams NYFW Show
When it came time to debut Serena Williams' fall collection, we wanted to deliver an interactive and simply unforgettable retail experience to our customer where she is most comfortable, be it at home sipping wine or sitting in a café browsing her tablet. That is what HSN is all about. We pioneered Boundaryless Retail™ – a frictionless experience …
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
JBL #CordFail Effect (Back and Bigger Than Ever)
Originally launched in 2014, this second iteration of the #CordFail campaign was designed to make an even bigger splash across multiple channels and to raise brand awareness around the new, Bluetooth-enabled JBL Everest series of five wireless headphones. The renewed JBL #CordFail campaign aimed to engage with more consumers than the year prior th…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
Lucy The Robot
BackgroundGlobal technology company, Double Robotics, wanted to launch into the Australian market with its Double telepresence robot. The device allows a remote user to manoeuvre the robot from the comfort of their home or office, and to interact with the world via video and audio devices.Double robotics briefed Atomic 212° to develop a strategy a…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
Marshawn Lynch's Skittles Press Conference
Aside from being the Seattle Seahawks' best player, Marshawn Lynch is widely known for two things: (1) Loving Skittles, and (2) not cooperating with reporters. Lynch has been synonymous with Skittles ever late 2011, when cameras caught him eating them on the sideline of a nationally televised game. Seahawks fans promptly embraced Skittles as their…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
PlayStation: Happy Birthday PewDiePie
To create a viral moment for the PlayStation brand.
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
SnapperHero: First Scripted Series on Snapchat
Entering Snapchat as a brand can feel a lot like being an awkward teenager trying to navigate lunchroom politics. That was especially true in the early part of 2015 when Discover had yet to launch and Snapchat wasn't yet offering brands a lot of consumer engagement options. But, when AT&T was looking to position its brand as the best mobile provid…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
Social Influencers Launch Nickelodeon's Latest Hits
This year, Nickelodeon dove headfirst into the influencer space across a variety of campaigns to help launch our biggest shows and network priorities. Recognizing that our target demo of kids 6-14 are watching more YouTube than ever, we worked with A-List influencer talent to create a wide variety of custom YouTube videos promoting events such as…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
Taken 3 - Liam Neeson LinkedIn Contest
Fans loved the Taken franchise, but cynicism about the final installment was high. Though Taken 3 changed up the series m.o. – no one gets taken – fans needed a new reason to believe the series would deliver a worthy new chapter in Liam Neeson's canon. Plus, social buzz was trending negatively, so we needed a breakthrough way to break through fans…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
That time Arby’s made friends with Jon Stewart
To fully understand the Arby's interaction with Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, one must go back a couple years when the future wasn't so bright. The brand was perceived as old, out-of-touch and had no relevance in culture.With a single tweet to Pharrell, Arby's put themself on the cultural map in a way they'd never been in their 50 year history.I…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
finalist
The Board
K-Swiss is a heritage American sneaker brand established in 1966 that's known for one of the most iconic sneakers of all time, The Classic. With stylish shoes and an aging audience, K-Swiss saw an opportunity to engage with entrepreneurial Millennials. K-Swiss knew they had to make a bold move, and The Board campaign was the launch of their entrep…

Nominees

Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
VH1’s Candidly Nicole Presents “Candid Moments”
Following a memorable first season, VH1's Candidly Nicole geared up for its season 2 premiere by partnering with five top online personalities to create "Candid Moments," a multipart digital video campaign featuring show star Nicole Richie on various adventures with The Fat Jew, Baddie Winkle, Girl with No Job, Hannah Bronfman and Jenn Im. The objective of …
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
#DrinkGoodDoGood – Bringing Awareness and Produce to Food Deserts
What was once seen as a reflection of narcissism, selfies have now become a symbol of selflessness, thanks to the #DrinkGoodDoGood campaign. Just ask the selfie-queens themselves, Ellen DeGeneres and Kim Kardashian, whose do-good selfie sparked an Instagram trend that took the nation by storm and confronted local food deserts head on. Nearly 24 million Amer…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
#GoodIsWinning Campaign Engages Pope Francis with US Millennials
Following Pope Francis' directive for the Catholic Church to expand use of digital and social media for greater relevancy and accessibility around the world, Aletiea.org a global Christian media company sponsored a monumental initiative to connect Millennials with the Church in conjunction with the Pope's historic visit to the US. The largest generation ali…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
#GronkIsMyCoPilot
As the city's largest airline, JetBlue continues to invest in Boston – building its offerings from Boston's Logan International Airport and cultivating meaningful relationships within the local community.To showcase its deep roots in New England and its commitment to the city at its core (as well as its rabid sports fans), JetBlue added another professional…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
#SINCE2001: Hpnotiq Taps Nostalgia and Pays Homage to Its Boundary-Pushing Legacy
Hpnotiq, a refreshing blend of premium French vodka, exotic fruit juices and a touch of Cognac, launched in 2001 and quickly gained popularity thanks to its electric blue hue. In its heyday, Hpnotiq was featured prominently in numerous hip-hop songs and music videos, and at high-profile parties and events- cementing its place as a mainstay in culture.Since …
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
100 Dancing Robots Come to Life (ft. Jordyn Jones)
There's no rule that says learning shouldn't be fun, or that playing can't be valuable. If there is, we created Sphero SPRK Edition to break it. SPRK Edition makes the skills of the future approachable and practical. And most importantly, fun. On September 28th, 2015 during back to school season we launched a new product focused on getting kids interested i…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
ALDI Cart Smarts with Ben Bailey
ALDI has a different style when it comes to grocery shopping. They do things that might seem a bit strange at first. But being different has made ALDI one of the fastest growing retailers in the US. Once you get to know ALDI - a small-format food market that saves you money on the groceries you buy most - you're converted for life. In Spring 2016, ALDI will…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Absolut Quality
With the rise of craft-spirit makers in the vodka category, compounding the struggle for consumer attention, Absolut was facing fierce competition and flat sales as consumers reached to purchase the locally-sourced, "bespoke" brands. Little did consumers seem to know that that Absolut has a very distinct craft history of its own with every product ba…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Air Canada Inaugural Flights
There's something to be said about the celebration of travelling to new destinations. In a modern world where travel has become an adventure and an opportunity for new experiences, the launch of new routes represents another opportunity to connect Canadians and the world.Inspired by the enthusiasm and love of new destinations, we launched a social program t…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Android Pay Case
Millennials have almost no involvement when it comes to their payment card. It's something they do not care about, as long as it works.So when Google launched Android Pay, a technology that allows Android users to make contactless payments using their NFC-enabled smartphone at over a million retailers nationally, it was clear from the outset that we'd need …
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
BB-8 by Sphero - Force Friday Snapchat Launch
Over the years, the magic of Star Wars™ has always lived on screen and in our imaginations. Thanks to our advancements in technology, we've made it possible to bring a new part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens™ into your home.On September 4th 2015, a day known to Star Wars fans as Force Friday, we launched the app-enabled Droid BB-8 into the world using Snap…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Chevrolet's #BestDayEver
Chevrolet and Carat tasked several partners with creating epic real people surprises around the country on April 1 to make April Fool's 2015 the #BestDayEver. WhoSay's role would be to develop a celebrity influencer program (with less than two weeks to plan) with the following objectives and goals:1. Launch Chevrolet's #BestDayEver campaign with a disruptiv…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Cimorelli’s Skype Sourced Music Video
Change perception of Skype amongst the key target demographic of 18-26 year olds showcasing how the product can be used to collaborate and create. The challenge was to engage this young audience in a way that inspired but was also authentic so that they continued to use Skype after the activation
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Cricket Wireless Gives Music Lovers “Something to Smile About”
BUSINESS CHALENGE Cricket Wireless and its Social Media Agency of Record, Max Borges Agency, wanted to tap into social conversations to amplify the brand's existing sponsorship investments on the Pitbull & Enrique Iglesias Tour and truly give music lovers Something To Smile About! In 2015, Cricket Wireless set out on a mission to refresh the brand by …
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Domino’s/Hindsight
With the upcoming launch of their voice-ordering app and the next foray into advanced technology, Domino's wanted a custom built campaign that would highlight their competitive edge as known leaders in digital ordering and tracking. They wanted to implement a campaign that was beyond their traditional marketing programs, one that lived on social platforms t…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Flama - Coca-Cola Taste Of Fame
The main objective for Coca-Cola's Taste Of Fame campaign was for Coke to connect to Hispanic teens in an authentic and relatable way. Coca-Cola took to the concept of "While Your Tongue is Young" and launched a robust strategy to inform young teens on how and why they are at the height of their game when it comes to their taste buds. Never again in their l…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Flazéda by Pearl
Celebrity perfumery Xyrena collaborated with Pearl of RuPaul's Drag Race fame to release a signature fragrance. The objective was to extend Pearl's brand with a luxury campaign that would break the stereotypical mold of drag queen endeavors. This was also Xyrena's first campaign so it was imperative that the overall approach reflect the brand's edgy, innova…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Goosebumps Influencer VR Instagram Campaign
When the classic book series Goosebumps came to life in theaters, Sony pictures and their agency Universal McCann wanted to create a unique campaign that harnessed the films' amazing visuals in a social way.Looking to drive awareness for the upcoming release of the Goosebumps in theaters, the teams sought to connect with a general audience on Instagram inte…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Harman Kardon; #MusicLife
The Brand and TargetThe Harman Kardon Wireless home audio system launched Harman Kardon's mission is to captivate the body and mind with the passion and beauty of music. The brand believes that the best music experiences are transfixing – so absorbing and enticing you can't help but surrender yourself to the moment. Similarly, our target is all about the mo…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
High-Five. Give $5. Save Big Cats.
For World Lion Day, National Geographic asked the public to "High Five. Give $5. Save Big Cats" - to create a worldwide virtual high-five chain using social media and the hashtag #5forBigCats to raise awareness across social media about the plight of big cats in the wild and funds for big cat conservation. Our hope was to raise $20,000.
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Jennifer Garner Partners with Huggies
Situation: For years, there have been two categories for diapers - premium diapers and value diapers. This bifurcation of the category became a problem for Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers. While they were a more affordable quality diaper, they didn't quite fit perfectly into either of those categories. Huggies made a strategic move to solve this problem by re-la…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Jimi's Legend Series
Young drink drivers are most at risk of being in a drink driving crash.They're also our hardest to reach audience.This cynical audience resists government messages. They're distrustful of authority. They don't want us to tell them what to do. They switch off to advertising. Objective: Get a disengaged audience to swallow a government message and also share …
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Kate McKinnon - The MORE Experiments
The Ford Focus is a car that offers a lot of choices to consumers. This campaign features the vehicle in various trim levels, pivoting on a theme borrowed from the :30 Focus broadcast spot, i.e. the Ford Focus is a car that believes in "more". But more what? The campaign seeks to answer that question by exploring the versatility of the Ford Focus in an ente…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Katy Perry's Mad Potion
Katy Perry has a powerful digital presence and is the most followed person on Twitter (74MM+ followers at the start of the campaign and 82MM+ to date). Coty seized this opportunity to pioneer a groundbreaking way to sell Katy Perry's Mad Potion fragrance on social media. The goal was to spread awareness in a digitally innovative way and convert Katy's huge …
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Kim at the Museum
We had some spare time on a Friday. We had a half-empty metro card, a copy of Kim Kardashian's "Selfish", and an intern named Rob.
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Kingsford’s #PayEd Campaign
The team was tasked with jumpstarting the grilling season prior to the summer months by infusing charcoal grilling into established occasions— for example during that mad, mad month of March when college basketball season is at its peak. While Kingsford charcoal has had success getting people to grill for game day during football season, inserting the brand…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
LEGO Jurassic World: The Park is Open to Influencers!
Make a Mosasaurus-sized social media splash to maximize awareness of LEGO Jurassic World upon its simultaneous release alongside Jurassic World on June 12, 2015.
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
LG V10 Launch, with Ryan Sheckler
Launch the new flagship model, the V10, while achieving a 2% increase in awareness compared to the previous major device launch.
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Lipton #BeMoreTea
Drive awareness of Lipton iced tea as a naturally refreshing beverage that enhances meals utilizing Lipton's brand philosophy - #BeMoreTea – during the campaign timing. KPIs/Tools: social listening tools, brand lift studies Develop custom content using a mix of organic viewership and paid media viewership as well as distribution of brand creative assets…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
M&M'S 1 Million Tastes of Crispy Giveaway - #NashHasCrispy
How does an iconic brand like M&M'S engage the all-important Millennial and Gen-Z audiences? By bringing back a fan-favorite variety after it was off shelves for 10 years and having one of the biggest social media stars hand out one million M&M'S to his fans. To help re-launch M&M'S Crispy and create a new generation of fans, M&M'S and PR/social agency Webe…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - The Flare Infection
Fans of the Maze Runner series are obsessed with all things related to Grievers, Gladers, Cranks, and Shanks. And fan influencers lead feverish conversations about them through their social channels.So how do you bring some of those high profile fans onto the Scorch? (the desert-like, post-apocalyptic setting of the film) Give them an exclusive, personalize…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Nicole Warne Digital Consultant
We partnered with one of Australia's most influential online personalities and digital entrepreneurs, Nicole Warne (aka Gary Pepper Girl), to complete a number of projects, the first being beautiful, luxurious travel destination guides to promote the premium side of Qantas destinations. Our objective in our partnership with Nicole Warne was not to rack up a…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
One Million Reasons to Say #IDO
For more than 40 years, Lambda Legal has successfully fought to advance the civil rights of people in America who are LGBTQ; but, Lambda had never invested significantly in marketing or communications, choosing to win battles in the courtroom rather than in the court of public opinion.As the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case approached, Lambda Legal realiz…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Oxygen’s The Prancing Elites Project – Influencer Program with Lohanthony
The objective of partnering with a social influencer for The Prancing Elites Project season 1 marketing campaign was to leverage the social and cultural clout of a relevant personality among our W18-34 target to help drive awareness and interest in Oxygen's newest reality docu-series. We wanted a brand advocate who would not only promote tune-in to their la…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Pepsi Max - Break the ice with Zuccarello
Pepsi Max Norway has a digital sponsorship deal with New York Rangers player Mats Zuccarello and wanted to use this to strengthen their relationship with potential and existing fans.
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Sam Tsui at Lollapalooza for Renaissance Hotels
At Renaissance Hotels, it's business unusual. We're on a mission to defy the conventions of business travel for those who crave unexpected experiences. We host live events in our hotels worldwide to help guests discover emerging talent in music, food, drink, and the arts. To show our support for the music community and promote awareness of our brand, we wa…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Shaun T x FILA #OppRUNtunity - Best Influencer and Celebrity Campaign
The #OppRUNtunity initiative with Kohl's, Shaun T and FILA was an activation designed to connect with consumers and encourage them to take their first – or hundredth – step forward on their fitness journey, through simple changes in their everyday activities.Beginning with a social media sweepstakes, participants were chosen to add steps to their day by par…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Sour Patch Kids Breaking Out: Prom
Our main objective was to tap into relevant, influential talent leveraging them as brand ambassadors with a content program that spanned YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Vine. By building a cross-platform program delivering a mix of video, social and live events, the program included seven long form (four to seven minute) videos which all had CGI elements, t…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Starbucks Frappuccino Summer of Fun
While Starbucks is a category and market leader, the summer beverage landscape is increasingly crowded and competitive. Consumers have more choices for summer refreshment, so even leading brands like Starbucks must actively work to stay top of mind for their target consumers. Increased Frappuccino sales was the primary business goal of this summer initiativ…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Summer of #5TruthorDare
The goal of this cross-platform campaign was to create a cultural "movement" by promoting and socializing #5TruthorDare to revolutionize the traditional game play amongst millennials; make it uniquely 5 Gum Truth or Dare.Leveraging Viacom's full arsenal of marketing asset (high profile show talent, Pulse Real Time Marketing, social talent, custom content ac…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
There Are No Hassles When You Clean with Clorox Like “The Hoff”
More than half of cleaning occasions happen in less than 10 minutes during the "cracks" of the day between work, school and events. With that in mind, Clorox designed new products with a busy consumer's life in mind, providing convenient and effective cleaning all in a simple swipe, pump or scrub. Knowing that 74 percent of people believe cleaning should be…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Weekend Wanderer
In early summer 2015, Alaska Airlines sought to run an Instagram-focused campaign designed to: Strategically grow their Instagram community Increase awareness of select routes within key geographic areas Inspire short-haul, weekend travel travel within the summer months Highlight their multitude of direct flights departing from the west coastGenerate photo…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Wilton + Rosanna Pansino = Winning Combination
Wilton Cake Decorating wanted to do something big in 2015. Rosanna Pansino of Nerdy Nummies caught our attention - as she has for millions of others - with her fun, quirky and unique sweet treat ideas. Ro already worked with a number of Wilton products in her YouTube episodes and we knew partnering with her would build an incredible creative collaboration f…
Influencer & Celebrity Campaign
Xbox One Innovation Guy
To drive awareness for Xbox One's newest features and most recent innovations- including backward compatibility, game streaming to Windows 10 PC and the new Xbox One Experience – Xbox released an integrated campaign with a unique brand of dry humor starring actor Martin Starr from the show Silicon Valley, as Innovation Guy.

About the Shorty Awards

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media.

Millions of people participate in The Shortys to recognize individuals and organizations producing great content on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, TikTok, Snapchat, and the rest of the social web.

shorty awards finalists will be announced in mid-march!