---
title: "14th Shorty Awards: Please Don't Buy Mixwell Wins"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/6737c9ca-2326-4cab-9ce2-e0dbc6025744
source_url: "https://shortyawards.com/14th/freedom"
stack: https://stacklist.com/c/business/stack/fa6d8bca-357c-476c-9ff5-cf91f01ffc2e
summary: "Mixwell won the 14th Shorty Awards in LGBTQ Community Engagement with a campaign that asked people who don't support inclusivity to not buy their product. The strategy used playful messaging and street activism to champion inclusive values while creating a platform for underrepresented voices."
tags: "lgbtq-community, social-media, brand-activism, inclusive-marketing, shorty-awards, campaign"
key_entities: "14th Annual Shorty Awards (event), Mixwell (organization), LGBTQ Community Engagement (concept), inclusive brand values (concept)"
classification: "reference"
content_hash: "sha256:f0ee368c6e3b6dccd2ee818635cee51462fd2e4dfe2ebe5c4757d8a198768e80"
acp_version: "0.2"
token_counts_approximate: 2101
visibility: public
agent_accessible: true
status: "final"
---

# 14th Shorty Awards: Please Don't Buy Mixwell Wins

THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists! Campaign Brand Awareness Campaign Foreign Language Campaign Global Campaign Integrated Campaign Launch Campaign Local Campaign Multi-Platform Campaign Multicultural Campaign Rebrand Campaign Social Good Campaign Content and Media Blog & Micro-blog Brand Voice Branded Content Branded Series Contest or Promotion Copywriting Email & Newsletter Episodic Meme, GIF, & Emojis Micro-Site Single Post or Activation Use of Viral Content User-Generated Content Creator & Influencer Partnerships Instagram Partnership Multi-Platform Partnership Other Platform Partnership TikTok Partnership YouTube Partnership Design Animation Art Direction Audio & Music Brand Identity Brand Redesign Generative AI Graphic Art Images Website/App Industry Auto Business to Business Consumer Brand Education Entertainment Fashion & Beauty Financial Services Fitness, Health, & Wellness Food & Beverage Gaming Government & Politics Hospitality Insurance Live Events News & Media Non-Profit Pets & Animals Pharma & Healthcare Real Estate Restaurants Retail & E-Commerce Social Activism Sports Technology Television Travel & Tourism Wine, Beer & Spirits Overall Presence Meta Presence Multi-Platform Presence Other Platform Presence TikTok Presence YouTube Presence Platforms & Technology Artificial Intelligence Extended Reality Immersive Instagram Interactive Content Other Platform TikTok YouTube Podcast Art & Culture Podcast Branded Podcast Business Podcast Health & Wellness Podcast Lifestyle & Entertainment Podcast News & Politics Podcast Other Podcast Genres Podcast Mini Series Sports Podcast Technology and Education Podcast True Crime & Documentary Podcast Strategy & Engagement Brand Partnership Call to Action Community Engagement Creative Use of Technology CTV/OTT Data & Insights Earned Media Event & Experiential Gamification GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) Humor Innovative Media Buying Strategy Integration with Traditional Media Internal Communications Micro-Influencer Strategy Music & Dance On a Shoestring Organic Promotion Paid & Amplification Physical and Digital Convergence Public Service Announcement Real Time Response SEO & SEM Social Commerce Storytelling Video Comedy Video Documentary Featurette or Behind The Scenes Video Instructional Video Live Video Long Form Video Medium-Length Video Music Video Product Feature Video Short Form Video Vertical Video Video Ad Video Series Menu Register Login From the 14th Annual Shorty Awards Please Don’t Buy Mixwell Winner in LGBTQ Community Engagement Objectives Mixwell was founded on the idea that the world is a better place when you mix well—inclusivity is the brand’s core belief. And that applies to all things, whether it’s cocktails, people, or ideas The problem is, some people just don’t mix well. So to make Mixwell known for its inclusive brand values, we asked those people to NOT buy Mixwell – because if you actively make the world a worse and less inclusive place, Mixwell doesn’t want your business.  We gave voice to some of the beliefs our audience holds dear and opened space for them to join the conversation on social, on the streets, and everywhere in between. This led to a lot of love online and requests to start making Mixwell worldwide. Strategy and Execution The strategy behind “Please Don’t Mixwell” was to politely exclude people who are making the world a less inclusive place from buying our product, while also creating a platform for underrepresented voices. With earnest copywriting and playful art direction, the campaign championed those who mix well by calling out those who don’t. We took our message to the streets with wild postings, to the internet with an original song, back to the streets with a giant gay gorilla, and to the social airwaves with film. It should come as no surprise that a brand named MIXWELL prides itself on bold, inclusive brand beliefs backed up by unshakable progressive values. The “Please Don’t Buy Mixwell” campaign was inclusive at its very heart, which was infused into the campaign from start to finish with a diverse and enthusiastic team both behind and in front of the scenes. Women, men, gay, straight, BIPOC all worked together to craft the campaign, going a step further to partner with the International Gay Rodeo Association and cast a real-life couple as the on-screen lovebirds in “Freedom,” the campaign’s :60s spot.   In a world where brands are terrified of boycotts for daring to have a worldview, Mixwell did the opposite. Where other ads write lengthy manifestos and anthems about who their product is for, Mixwell did something different and instead called out who it’s not for. Not for creativity’s sake, but for real brand values’ sake.  Results Please Don’t Buy Mixwell used a combination of hard-to-miss creative and a media plan that focused on organic engagement to create a space for people to openly discuss their values and share messages of positivity. And it must have worked considering: Following the campaign, Mixwell sold out of product. The brand organically shot up to the front of Reddit pages like r/lgbtq, r/suddenlygay, and r/unexpected.  Users showed their support with a barrage of upvotes and positive comments. Including “How can I pay to watch this ad?” and “Give Mixwell an award” Earned recognition by being overwhelmingly voted for Campaign US’s “Ad of the Week”  The “Freedom” film was used in LBGTQ lectures as a point of reference and discussion at VCU. Mixwell received emails and positive comments across multiple channels like Reddit, YouTube, & Instagram that shared messages of congratulations. The campaign was so breakthrough that people even asked if Mixwell was a real brand.  Received requests from around the world to begin producing Mixwell in other countries. Media Video for Please Don’t Buy Mixwell Share this entry Entrant Company / Organization Name The Many, Mixwell Links https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7esCe-LhtSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGr1MpVKNUg&ab_channel=Pleasemixwell https://pleasemixwell.com/ Entry Credits Billy Ray Founder at MIXWELL Jens Stoelken CEO at MIXWELL Blake Marquis Founding Partner at MIXWELL Damien Eley Co-Creative Chair, Partner at The Many Scott Harris Co-Creative Chair, Partner at The Many Jorge Andrade Director of Design at The Many Ashley Milhollin Creative Director at The Many Curtis Petraglia Creative Director, at The Many Annie Johnston Associate Creative Director at The Many Jacque “Jackie” Vavroch Associate Creative Director at The Many Scott Menzie Senior Copywriter at The Many Cameron Twombly Senior Art Director at The Many Savannah Bradford Senior Art Director at The Many Mason Douglass Senior Copywriter at The Many Katie Braverman Designer at The Many Maddie Avjean Designer at The Many John Duch Designer at The Many Gianni Arone Motion Graphic Designer at The Many Darleen Ralota Motion Graphic Designer at The Many Madeline Gali Senior Project Manager at The Many Connor Bland Production Coordinator at The Many Melissa Cabral Head of Strategy at The Many Andy Craig Group Strategy Director at The Many Harriet Riley Director of Social Strategy at The Many Destiny Modeste Social Strategist at The Many Amanda Cosindas Director of Marketing & Communications at The Many Tirris “Ty” Gates Communications Manager at The Many Alex Barnes Group Media Director at The Many Anthony Rocker Media Director at The Many Trevor Paperny Director / Executive Producer at Plus Plus Productions Benjamin Scott Producer at Plus Plus Productions Cam Riley Director of Photography at Plus Plus Productions Vault Rentals Camera House at Plus Plus Productions Robert Frenette (Matchcut Editorial) Edit and Color at Plus Plus Productions Mike Regan Sound Design / Mix at Plus Plus Productions Mark Rowe Talent at International Gay Rodeo Association Kelly DeHart Talent at International Gay Rodeo Association Hendri Singer Share this entry Share this Shorty Awards page  Tweet  Share  Email Share link