Smirnoff, the lead sponsor of the local broadcast of the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), applauds the announcement that gendered categories have been scrapped from this year's music video celebration. The good times drink for everyone also welcomes the addition of the Best Fight Against the System category.
The Best Female Video and Best Male Videocategories have now been combined into one, simply titled Artist of the Year. Nominees vying for the moonman are Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar,
Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd and Lorde.
According to MTV, the Best Fight Against the Systemcategory has been added to celebrate those videos that inspire viewers to stand up and fight injustice. Videos that made the cut include Black SpiderMan by Logic ft. Damian Lemar Hudson, Big Sean's Light,Surefire by John Legend and Alessia Cara's Scars To Your Beautiful.
Smirnoff Marketing Manager, Kyle Lesch says: "Music and MTV have always broken barriers and with Smirnoff bringing the broadcast of the VMAs to South Africa, 'Everyone's Invited' to enjoy this historic transformation to the Awards that have been honouring the best music videos since 1984."
MTV's move to non-gendered categories aligns with Smirnoff's Equalizing Music initiative, which strives to drive gender parity and diversity in the music industry. What's more, the addition of the Best Fight Against the System category compliments Smirnoff's efforts in shining a light on creatives who use their platforms to address social issues through their newly launched Change Makers campaign, which aims to encourage everyone to make a positive change."
To see who will take home the moonman (please double check this word), tune into MTV (DStv channel 130) on Monday, 28 August at 02:00 CAT for the live broadcast, or at 21:30 CAT for
