Webby Award nods include Obama, Bieber videos

The teams behind President Barack Obama’s 2012 social media election campaign and Justin Bieber’s fragrance launch were among the nominees on Tuesday for the annual Webby Awards, which honor excellence on the Internet.

Tom Hanks, Lady Gaga, Tiger Woods, Alec Baldwin and Charlize Theron were among many other celebrities whose high-flying careers provided fodder for innovative Internet campaigns.

The annual Webby Awards honor websites, online video and social media as well as apps and interactive Internet advertising.

“Every year we are constantly amazed by the innovations Webby Nominees push forward and this year is no exception,” David-Michel Davies, the awards’ executive director, said in a statement.

Last year's “Obama for America: For All Campaign" received two nods in the social media campaign and interactive advertising and media categories. “Girls” TV writer and director Lena Dunham also picked up an individual nomination for her tongue-in-cheek 2012 video “Lena Dunham for Obama for America, ‘First Time.’”
The 2012 campaign for Bieber’s Girlfriend fragrance, in which teens sent in their own video versions of his hit single, won a nod in the interactive advertising field.