Louis C.K., The Onion honoured with video and media Webby Awards
LOS ANGELES, May 2 — With more than 130 regular categories, the Webby Awards, known as the Oscars of the Internet, announced winners for their 16th edition on May 1, honouring innovations in the digital and Internet world. Among winners in media and online video content were comedian Louis C.K., websites The Onion and Funny or Die, and online TV series The Confession.
Naturally, web services were notable winners, including Google+, Pinterest, music service Spotify, Mashable, cloud storage site Dropbox, Instagram and Facebook, which won the first People’s Special Achievement for Social Change.
Several entertainment selections won significant awards in both the official Webby and the “People’s Voice” choices from online votes.
Mexican-American stand-up comic Louis C.K. was named Webby Person of the Year for the digital release of his comedy special “Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theatre” for US$5 (RM15) on his website, which within two weeks reached sales of US$1 million.http://www.louisck.com/
Excerpt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzHzlMneaeQ
Icelandic singer/songwriter Bjork won the Webby Artist of the Year award for her “Biophilia” album, dubbed the world’s first “app album.”
About the app suite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dikvJM__zA4
App: http://bitly.com/biophiliaapp
Actress Juliette Lewis and Canadian comedy writer Graydon Sheppard both won as Best Actresses for their YouTube series “Shit Girls Say.” Watched more than 16 million times, the first episode became an internet phenomenon, getting parodied on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/user/shitgirlssay
The first episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-yLGIH7W9Y
Comedy sites were big winners, including The Onion, which won five awards, and Funny or Die, which grabbed a Webby for its “Drunk History Christmas” with Ryan Gosling, Jim Carrey and Eva Mendes.
http://www.FunnyorDie.com
“Drunk History Christmas”: http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/6dxd
Will Ferrell, who co-founded the comedy site Funny Or Die, won best individual performance for his impression of former President George W. Bush: http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/5lrs
British actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s “Star Wars” snagged two People’s Voice Awards for their renditions of CP30 and R2D2 on the CollegeHumor site: http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6453421/simon-pegg-and-nick-frosts-star-wars
In the Best Drama Online Film & Video category, the web-only series The Confession starring Kiefer Sutherland (24) won both a Webby and a People’s Voice Award.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok1OiEWDjtg
The Creators Project won a Webby for Best Music Online Film and Video. Viewed more than 125 million times by enthusiasts of the arts, technology and culture, the website is translated into six languages.
http://thecreatorsproject.com/reel2
In the advertising category, Wieden + Kennedy won three awards for Nike’s “Back for the Future” campaign starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yiSdjwi_bg
TED.com won the Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Education site.
The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, will be handed out May 21 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York in a ceremony featuring winners’ famous five-word acceptance speeches. — AFP/Relaxnews
