Last week, the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences (AMPAS) announced a Twitter activity for all the netizens who watch films, known as the Oscars Fan Favorite Poll. If you’re wondering that this sounds like a rebranded version of the People’s Choice Award, you are not mistaken.
Ahead of the Oscars ceremony, the Academy partnered with Twitter to announce this challenge, and it seems like a way to make the Oscars more relevant to new generations. But what exactly is it, and how does the Oscar Fan Favorite poll work?
The Oscar Fan Favorite Poll lets people vote for their favorite movie till March 3 on the official website or Twitter using #OscarsFanFavorite. The film with the most votes will win. Three lucky people who’ve voted for that film will get to attend the Oscars ceremony.
If you thought this move by the Academy was outright stupid, wait till you hear how the challenge will play out. People can make 20 votes per day on either the official website or Twitter until March 3. The official site doesn’t mention if one person can vote 20 times for the same film or not. This means the chances of fans spamming with their favorite films becomes increasingly high, which is exactly what has happened.
Right now, the film leading this race is Camila Cabello’s Cinderella, and following that is Johnny Depp’s Minamata. If you’re thinking, why aren’t films like Spider-man: No Way Home, No Time to Die, or Justice League leading the race, then I’ve got one thing to say to you. Welcome to the club!
Besides this, people can also vote for their favorite cheer-worthy moment. As the name suggests, you can vote for a moment in any film that made you jump up from your seats and cheer for it with all your heart.
You can send in your votes for both these categories till March 3, after which the challenge will end. Before the ceremony, the results will be announced, and the movie with the most votes will get a mention at the show. That’s right, it wouldn’t even get an actual award but merely a mention. Three lucky winners out of everyone who have voted for that film will be flown to L.A., where they attend the Oscar ceremony along with the entire crowd of Hollywood superstars.
Fans across the globe seem to be pretty engaged with this Twitter challenge. But many publishers are calling out the Oscars for using a desperate tactic to be more relevant and increase the show’s ratings.
As a cinema lover, I’m not someone who follows the Oscars, and I don’t think all the Oscar nominees are the best pieces of work in the year. With this move, the credibility of the world’s biggest award ceremony goes for a toss, and now more people would lose their faith in the legitimacy.
Currently, the online engagement is incredible, but the Academy’s true test would be the success of the show and its ratings. Post this Twitter challenge, the campaign can become a good case study that could shed light on whether the campaign worked or not and the reasons behind its success or failure.
About Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious and significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy’s voting membership.
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