There’s now an MTV Moonman emoji for the #VMAs

By Digiday • August 25, 2015 •

First awarded in 1984, MTV’s Moonman award is getting an update for 2015.

In anticipation of this Sunday’s Video Music Awards hosted by IRL-emoji herself, Miley Cyrus, MTV unveiled a Moonman emoji for Twitter users, making it the first network to have its own award show emoji.

OOOH THEY MADE AN EMOJI OF MY @MTV MOON MAN REDESIGN !!! #VMAS !!! WE COME IN PEACE !!! pic.twitter.com/ekMnZDQe8X

— JEREMY SCOTT (@ITSJEREMYSCOTT) August 24, 2015

Tweets using #VMA and #VMAs will be tagged with neon-colored Moonman emoji created by fashion designer Jeremy Scott, who is also dressing Cyrus. The emoji was inspired by the actual Moonman award that will be given to winners and which also got a redesign by Scott last week.

Moschino’s creative director @ITSJEREMYSCOTT redesigned the @MTV #VMAs Moonman! https://t.co/fYYpEaU4fQ pic.twitter.com/IhfYIkDTZv — Moschino (@Moschino) August 18, 2015

MTV says the emoji only furthers the awards ceremony as an “iconic social event,” which is true because last year’s event garnered 12.6 million tweets, according to Nielsen Social. (Television ratings, however, dipped 18 percent compared to 2013.)

Of course, MTV isn’t the first to have its own Twitter emojis. Other live events, including the World Cup and Eurovision, also have teamed up with the social network to include mini-emojis with specific hashtags.

More in Media

Inside the C-suite

Forbes launches dynamic AI paywall as it ramps up post-search commercial diversification plans

November 14, 2025

For the latest Inside the publisher C-Suite series, Digiday spoke to Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips on its AI-era playbook, starting with its AI-powered dynamic paywall to new creator-led commercial opportunities.