THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Campaign

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Awareness Campaign See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Campaign by Diverse-Owned Businesses See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Global Campaign See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Integrated Campaign See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Launch Campaign See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Local Campaign See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multi-Platform Campaign See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Rebrand Campaign Regional Campaign See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Good Campaign

Content and Media

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Blog & Micro-blog See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Voice See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Branded Content See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Branded Series See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Contest or Promotion See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Copywriting See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Email & Newsletter See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Filter/Lens See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Meme, GIF, & Emojis See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Micro-Site See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Single Post or Activation Use of Viral Content See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> User-Generated Content

Design

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Animation See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Art Direction See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Audio & Music See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Identity See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Redesign See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Generative AI See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Graphic Art See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Images See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Website/App

Industry

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Auto See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Beauty See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Business to Business See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Consumer Brand See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Education See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Entertainment See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Financial Services See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Fitness, Health, & Wellness
<br>See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Food & Beverage See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Gaming See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Government & Politics See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Hospitality See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Insurance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Live Events See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> News & Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Non-Profit See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pets & Animals See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pharma & Healthcare See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Estate See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Restaurants See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Retail & E-Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Activism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Sports See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Television See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Travel & Tourism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Wine, Beer & Spirits

Influencer & Celebrity Partnership

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Instagram Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multi-Platform Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Other Platform Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> TikTok Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> X Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> YouTube Partnership

Overall Presence

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Facebook Presence See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Instagram Presence See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> LinkedIn Presence See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multi-Platform Presence See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Other Platform Presence See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> TikTok Presence See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> X Presence See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> YouTube Presence

Platforms & Technology

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Artificial Intelligence See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Extended Reality See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Facebook See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Immersive See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Instagram See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Interactive Content See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> LinkedIn See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Other Platform See previous year winners and honorees here.</a>"> TikTok See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> X (formerly Twitter) See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> YouTube

Podcast

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Art & Culture Podcast See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Branded Podcast Business Podcast NEW! See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Health & Wellness Podcast See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Lifestyle & Entertainment Podcast See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> News & Politics Podcast See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Other Podcast Genres See previous winners and honorees here.</a> "> Podcast Mini Series See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Sports Podcast Technology and Education Podcast See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> True Crime & Documentary Podcast

Strategy & Engagement

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Call to Action See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Community Management See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Creative Use of Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> CTV/OTT See previous winners and honorees for Insights and Trends here.</a> <a href=https://shortyawards.com/17th/"https://shortyawards.com/category/16th/data-visualization">See previous winners and honorees for Data Visualization here.</a>"> Data & Insights See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Earned Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Event & Experiential See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Gamification See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Humor See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Innovative Media Buying Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Integration with Traditional Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Internal Communications See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> LGBTQ Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Micro-Influencer Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multicultural Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Music & Dance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> On a Shoestring See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Organic Promotion See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Paid & Amplification See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Physical and Digital Convergence See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Public Service Announcement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Time Response See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> SEO & SEM See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Storytelling

Video

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Comedy Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Documentary Feature Film NEW! See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Featurette or Behind The Scenes Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Instructional Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Live Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Long Form Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Medium-Length Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Music Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Product Feature Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Short Form Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Unboxing Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Vertical Video See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Video Ad See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Video Series

Of The Year

Commercial Creator of the Year Dual-Format Creator of the Year Large Agency of the Year Large Brand of the Year Large Non-Profit of the Year Mid-Sized Agency of the Year News Creator of the Year Site of the Year Small Agency of the Year Studio of the Year

Candyman: The True Story Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder

Finalist in Podcast Mini Series, True Crime & Documentary Podcast

Objective

This podcast aimed to explore the complex, haunting story of Ruthie Mae McCoy’s death and highlight the deep-seated social issues underlying her case. Our goal was to examine how systemic racial injustices, housing inequality, and mental health stigmas may have influenced her tragic fate. Through this investigation, we hoped to raise awareness and encourage reflection on these systemic challenges, using Ruthie's story to give voice to similar, often-overlooked experiences.

Strategy

To bring Candyman: The True Story Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder to life, we aimed to explore Ruthie Mae McCoy’s tragic story beyond sensationalism, focusing on systemic issues like racial bias, mental health stigma, and housing inequality. Host Dometi Pongo, a Chicago native, added context and empathy. We balanced firsthand accounts and expert insights, addressing challenges like sourcing sensitive, reliable information. This unique approach honors Ruthie as a person, encouraging listeners to reflect on her story’s deeper meaning. We worked with the award-winning production company, Neon Hum, on this project and they helped bring the series to life.

Results

Our podcast achieved its goal of highlighting Ruthie Mae McCoy's story within a broader social context, sparking conversations on race, mental health, and housing inequality. Listener engagement and critical acclaim affirm its impact and meaningful resonance. On the Apple Podcast charts, Candyman: The True Story Behind the Bathroom Mirror Murder reached #8 All Podcasts and #3 True Crime. The podcast was also one of Amazon Music’s Best Podcast of The Year for 2024.

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Paramount

Links

Entry Credits