Do you ever feel disappointed on Oscar night when the envelope is opened and the name read doesn’t correspond to the box you checked for Best Supporting Actress or Best Picture? Have you watched your favorite stars walk down the red carpet and been puzzled by their fashion choices? Well, now your vote can count toward Oscar winners…sort of. This year viewers were asked to vote online for their favorite couture gown to be worn by the trophy presenter as part of Oscar fashion coordinator Patty Fox’s “Project Oscars: Designer Challenge.” The Project Runway style competition is a first for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Taking a look at the Oscars’ website, it’s clear that the Academy is looking to tap into the popularity of viewer voting and viral videos. Their site hosts videos, featuring an “Oscars Time Capsule” with rare photos and videos from previous Academy Award shows, a look at the evolution of the ceremony and even “Oscar Mobile,” which allows fans to sign up for mobile alerts. 
As an avid fan of the popular reality television show Project Runway, I was intrigued by this year’s user-generated addition to the event. Although, I admit that at first I was skeptical, without host Heidi Klum repeating her famous line, “you’re out,” at the end of the hour…and would this Oscars Design Challenge stack up to the dramatic designers and the panicked moments before Bryant Park Fashion Week on Runway? While the Academy Award show features its own share of bloopers and emotional acceptance speeches, I wasn’t sure it could compare.
Because of the user friendly features of Oscars.go.com, prominently featuring the “Behind the Dress” daily webisodes hosted by none-other than Project Runway’s season 2nd season contestant and designer Nick Verreos, I quickly became engaged in this new element of the Oscars build-up. To sweeten the situation, my favorite Project Runway star, Tim Gunn, was set to announce the winner from the red carpet on Oscar night! I think anyone that lives by his now famous Project Runway catchphrase, “make it work,” shared in my excitement. The video features also explained the progression of the Challenge, originating with Patty Fox and Academy Award show producers, Laurence Mark and Bill Condon selecting both the designers and models. Not only were the reality television tie-ins a draw, but so were the daily video updates with embedded links that I could easily post, sharing “Behind the Dress” segments on Facebook and Twitter to my fellow Runwayheads.
Although Sam Kori George’s dress won, my vote went to Marianne Kooimans’ black Italian embroidery and woven iridescent silk gown. Even though my favorite dress didn’t make it to the Academy Award Show stage, and considering that I was disappointed by Tim Gunn’s brief, almost rushed red carpet announcement, I did take a new-found interest in the Academy’s growing efforts to build a stronger social media presence. I still questioned some of the nominees’ fashion choices and I didn’t win the office Oscar pool but new interactive, albeit limited, online features were a welcomed addition to the Academy Award experience.
A Look Through a Social Media Lense
Aside from my own video postings, targeted searches found that buzz surrounding the contest spiked at two points, once following the initial February 10th annual Oscar fashion show at Academy headquarters and again during the Oscar pre-show on the red carpet, the night of the Tim Gunn’s announcement. Accounting for the first peak in discussion, approximately 50 Twitter posts (or tweets) referenced the challenge, a handful of forums revealed posts related to the contest and merely two fan-made videos made their way to YouTube, while popular sites such as Access Hollywood, The Insider, MSN, and OMG! Yahoo and dozens of local news sites featured stories on the new online voting initiative leading up to the final day for online voting, February 17th. Likewise during the ABC pre-show special, a quick Twitter search revealed that an estimated 30 posts referenced the Challenge and the winning designer, Sam Kori George. The video series continued until February 23rd but judging from the minimal blog and Twitter posts, few viewers kept an active interest.
The momentum of the fashion show, traditional media coverage and online buzz did not sustain the two week period from the contest launch to the final announcement. Although the video features were informative, the series started a week after the Challenge’s debut. By the time fans were able to see the behind-the-scenes clips on February 18th, the voting portion was closed. Unlike the inspiration, Project Runway, fans could not vote while watching anxious designers hold-up backstage or contemplate their favorite gown as a panel of judges debates the strengths of each dress. Granted fans don’t decide the ultimate outcome of the Project Runway challenges, they can text their votes and see both their fellow viewers’ picks as well as the often emotional reactions of the designers.