МOSCOW, OCTOBER 18, 2018 —RT’s large-scale, cross-platform multimedia project #Romanovs100, dedicated to the centenary of the execution of the last Russian royal family, has been shortlisted in two categories at the Shorty Social Good Awards—a prestigious awards competition designed to raise global awareness of the positive impact brands, agencies, and nonprofits can have on society.
RT’s #100Romanovs will compete for “Best in Education” against—among others—a joint project by National Geographic and well-known ad agency McCann. In the category “Best in News & Media”, #Romanovs100 has been shortlisted alongside projects by CBS and the Economist, among others.
#Romanovs100, produced in collaboration with the State Archive of Russia, took place across four platforms – YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Over the course of 100 days – from April 8 to July 17 – rare archival photographs from the Romanovs’ personal collection were published across the project’s accounts. The published photographs represent the most complete collection of photos taken by the royal family to this day. As part of the #Romanovs100 project, RT also produced a VR animation of the ‘Romanovs’ Lullaby,’ an exclusive composition by well-known Russian musician and performer Peter Nalitch. In addition, RT produced three other video clips in the style of the early 20th century, using archival photographs as a reference to reconstruct real moments from the royal family’s life.
#Romanovs100 was created by the same team behind the channel’s international #1917LIVE project, one of the biggest-ever historical re-enactments on Twitter. Dozens of Twitter accounts were set up as key historical characters of the period, from the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin to common workers and soldiers, tweeting events from 100 years ago in real-time. Historians from the US and UK took part in the project, as well as the world-renowned Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. The project has received more than 20 Russian and international awards, including the 2018 Webby People’s Voice Award. At the Shorty Social Good Awards, the project won for ‘Best in Education’ and won gold for ‘Best Overall Twitter Presence.’ It was also a three-time finalist at this year’s Cannes Lions festival.
The Shorty Awards, or “Shortys”, is a prestigious annual awards competition that honors the best of social media. Also known as the Grammys of social media, its jury includes representatives of media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, as well as social networks like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.