By Prarthana Mitra
In recognition of some of the world’s best cause marketing campaigns this year, the nominees for the third annual Shorty Social Good Awards were announced this week. The winners of this year’s Shorties will be announced on November 15, and felicitated at a lavish ceremony on November 18 in New York. In a year that has headlined with #MeToo and the refugee crisis, the campaigns chosen this year also reflect and take stands on topical issues, “especially in gender equality, race, politics and the environment,” said Gregory Galant, Shorty Awards co-founder and CEO of MuckRack.
“This year, we added 20 new categories, including Video Series and Documentary Short,” he said. “Brands are recognizing the power of video and how it can effectively be used to tell a story. Social Good is more relevant than ever, and consumers continue to respond to authentic brands that have a strong voice.”
All you need to know about the nominees this year
Some of the popular categories include Environment and Sustainability, Social Movement Campaign, Gender Equality, Integrated Campaign and Video Series.
Significant campaigns aimed at empowering women included making Barbie more inclusive in order to create More Role Models, a collaborative venture between OKCupid and Planned Parenthood for women’s reproductive rights, a mobile campaign to offer scholarships to young women who wish to pursue STEM research, a social movement campaign #GetOnTop to promote women’s sexual health a multi-platform campaign that reimagines the game of chess with a powerless queen to highlight denied education rights for girls in India, Stop Acid Sale initiative to give visibility to acid attack survivors, and a WikiWomen Edit-A-Thon.
India’s entries
While India’s #PowerlessQueens campaign led this year’s Shorty Awards with 8 nominations, Stop Acid Sale campaign enjoyed a solitary spot after creating ripples on social media for extending visibility and inclusion to India’s acid attack survivors.
Digitally powered by White Rivers Media, the only Indian Independent Agency to be shortlisted, Viviana’s ‘Stop Acid Sale’ campaign secured a coveted nomination in the Human Rights category. The Women’s Day campaign aimed to highlight the unheard and untold stories of acid attack survivors and restore their equal footing in society, the agency said in a press release. Shrenik Gandhi, CEO of White Rivers Media told Qrius, “A campaign becomes all the more special when it serves the greater good through social media.”
Several other campaigns dealt with LGBTQ+ rights, the immigration crisis, racial crimes and discrimination, relief for Hurricane Harvey, gun-violence, mental health and physical disabilities, literacy, food and water shortages, global warming and child sexual abuse. Using hashtags, virtual reality, documentaries, outdoor and social media campaigns, 360 videos and live stream videos, some of the world’s best creative agencies churned out relatable, viral and socially relevant content for brands such as Mercedes Benz, Uber, Smirnoff, Dove and L’Oreal.
Previously won by Taylor Swift, Tyler Oakley, Casey Neistat, Hannibal Buress, Malala Yousafzai, Jenna Marbles, J.K. Rowling, Adele, and DJ Khaled, the Shorty Awards strive to raise global awareness around the positive impact brands, influencers, SJWs, agencies and nonprofits can have on society. Here is a complete list of this year’s nominees.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius
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