THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

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

Industry

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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

THE FIRST OMEN: Gender Reveal

Finalist in Short Form Video

Objective

In a window cluttered by SXSW releases and a competing religious horror movie (also featuring creepy nuns), our goal was to create an attention-grabbing moment to garner awareness for The First Omen, reinvigorate a cult classic franchise that had been dormant for over 30 years, and introduce it to a new generation of horror fans across social media.

Strategy

In partnership with our creative/production agency MediaNug, the 20th Century Studios Digital Team set out to create a custom piece of social content centered on merging two distinct points of cultural relevance. First, we tapped into the widespread trend and online discourse surrounding gender reveal parties gone wrong, a topic that consistently garners significant attention and engagement. Second, we aligned this with the film’s thematic elements, including horror, religious undertones, and its exploration of motherhood and family dynamics. By creatively combining these entry points, we crafted an original short form promotional video designed to surprise/delight/intrigue audiences, provoke conversation, amplify the film’s unique appeal, and reintroduce The Omen franchise to horror fans old and new.

The 20th Century Studios Digital Team and MediaNug developed treatments for horror-themed gender reveal parties, which culminated in a full script written by both teams. We collaborated to fully produce and cast the project and shot several versions of the concept. A significant challenge arose during the outdoor shoot when heavy rain unexpectedly disrupted our schedule. This forced us to adapt on the spot, improvising new scenes and setups to keep the production moving. What initially seemed like a setback turned out to be a creative advantage: the rain infused the final piece with a frantic, scattered energy that perfectly echoed the unsettling tones of the horror film. To further enhance the visual impact, we incorporated photography-grade smoke bombs as part of the stunt work. Combined with the rain, this created a visually striking and atmospheric scene that felt entirely unique, but with the aesthetic of a real home video. The project’s success lay in its ability to transform challenges into creative opportunities, delivering a final product that stood out through its bold concept, adaptability, and distinct visual style that was also native to vertical video platforms like TikTok & Reels.

Results

Entrant Company / Organization Name

20th Century Studios

Links

Entry Credits