Apple, Spotify, Instagram and some of the year’s most talked-about personalities are among those nominated for the 23rd annual Webby Awards for lighting up the internet through excellence and innovation.
The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced the nominees this morning (4/2). They include such celebrities as Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
Nominees addressed social issues such as gun control, women’s rights, addiction and bullying.
This year’s awards will include new categories for excellence on social platforms and for celebrating innovations using voice-enabled speaking platforms such as Amazon Echo and Google Home.
Among those recognized in the Advertising, Media & PR categories are BBDO New York, McCann New York, R/GA, Wieden+Kennedy, HAKUHODO i-studio Inc., Deutsch, Droga5, Annex88, Dept, Heimat Werbeagentur, Work&Co, and 72andSunny.
All nominees are eligible to win two internet industry honors: The Webby Award, selected by the Academy, and The Webby People’s Voice Award, voted on by Internet fans around the world. Voting for the Webby People’s Voice Awards is open now until Thursday, April 18, 2019 at 11:59 PM (PT).
BBDO, McCann lead the way
Leading the ad/media/PR competition is BBDO New York with 23 nominations. Next up are McCann New York (14 nominations), Wieden+Kennedy (13 nominations), R/GA (12 nominations), TBWAMedia Arts Lab (11 nominations), Basic Agency (8 nominations), Edelman (8 nominations), Moxie Communications (8 nominations), and MediaMonks (6 nominations).
“Every year we’re blown away by continued innovation within the advertising and media industry,” said Claire Graves, executive director of The Webby Awards. “This year’s nominees made some of the most inspiring campaigns we’ve seen so far—with creative approaches to tackle the global challenges, highlight technological progress around the world, or simply to captivate the minds of consumers. We are thrilled to honor their contributions and achievements.”
Some of the most noteworthy marketing campaigns combined incredible creative concepts with the innovative use of tech and media platforms to develop memorable and effective advertising experiences. Nominees include Nike Shanghai Never Done Shop (AKQA Shanghai), Unravel van Gogh (Dept), The Indoor Generation (&Co./NoA), Whopper Neutrality (David the Agency), Dilly Dilly (Wieden+Kennedy), MedMen – The New Normal (Mekanism), HORNBACH “Room of Silence, Giving Toilets a Voice” (Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH), Big Bell (Deutsch), adidas Originals SHPTLKS (Annex88), IHOb (Droga5), Jordan Brand: Air Jordan XI Concord (Laundry Service), #sitesinunderanhour (Juniper Park/TBWA), Stop your boobs playing their own game (The Monkeys), New York Public Library Insta Novels (Mother New York), and Apple Welcome Home (TBWA/Media Arts Lab).
With brands more focused than ever before on taking a stand and aligning with social good, The Webbys saw myriad corporate social responsibility campaigns drawing attention to pressing issues, including nominees: Corazon – Give Your Heart (JohnXHannes New York), #DefyTheName (BBDO New York), Dear Future Dads (Virtue), Roo (Work&Co), Uncensored Playlist (MediaMonks), @SeeLikeMenna (Saatchi & Saatchi), Treatment Box (m ss ng p eces), and The Most Vicious Cycle (McCann NY).
This year The Webby Awards announced a category dedicated to honoring work created by advertising students. With their innate digital dexterity and fresh perspective, young people are often setting new benchmarks for creativity and pushing the boundaries of innovation. Nominees include: The Portfolio Apartment (Alexander & Christian), The Deported: Life Beyond the Border (JOVRNALISM), Apple: Saving Smiles and HoriznStudios: The World Exploring Suitcase (Miami Ad School Europe GmbH), and Reality Check: Choose Your News (University of California Berkeley).
Academy judges including GE CMO Linda Boff, DDB Worldwide CEO Wendy Clark, 360i president Abbey Klaassen, BBDO New York CCO Greg Hahn, The Martin Agency CEO Kristen Cavallo, JPMorgan Chase CMO Kristn Lemkau, Droga5 founder and creative chairman David Droga, and Wieden+Kennedy co-president Colleen Decourcy select the Webby Winners each year.
Winners for The 23rd Annual Webby Awards will be announced on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, and celebrated at a star-studded awards show hosted by actress and comedian Jenny Slate on Monday, May 13, 2019, at Cipriani Wall Street.
The Webby Awards received 13,000 entries from 50 states and 70 countries worldwide. From the thousands of global entries submitted, fewer than 10% were selected as nominees.
For a complete list of nominees and to vote for the People’s Voice Awards, click here.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XRโs offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role heโs held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossanoโs expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the companyโs creative talent network. Rossanoโs career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that companyโs inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More