It’s almost that time again to roll out the five-word speeches as the folks behind the Webbys have announced the nominees for their 17th annual event (promo above), which will be broadcast online on May 22  while host and actual venue for the event will be announced next week.

Along with the usual suspects like Nike (which leads the pack with 17 nods), Google, FunnyorDie and Mashable as well as celebs ranging from Tom Hanks to Lena Dunham, the agency world once again gets plenty of kudos in this year’s installment. Among the notables include McCann Melbourne, which is up for a Webby in the Viral category for “Dumb Ways to Die”, Toronto’s john st., which is up for an award in the “Best Copywriting” category for its “Buyral” clip (below), and 72andSunny, which has earned a nod in Integrated Campaigns category for its Call of Duty work. As is the norm, you can weigh in via the People’s Voice Awards, which you can vote on until April 25.  Check out the full list of nominees here.

Following a formal RFP process, New York-based Carrot Creative has been awarded social media agency of record duties for sporting goods brand, Wilson, which as you may or may not know puts out tennis racquets used by Roger Federer and a ball that serves as Tom Hanks‘ best friend in Cast Away among other things.

Anyhow, as Wilson’s new social media AOR, Carrot, which would not disclose the incumbent on the biz, will work on social strategy across the brand’s sporting lineup including baseball, its baseball bat line DeMarini, football, volleyball and soccer. Seeing as it’s that time of year and all, Carrot’s first order of business was to create a Tumblr site to tell us the tale of the Wilson Super Bowl football.

Regarding his company’s decision, Wilson VP of marketing Tom Gruger offers this statement: “Carrot was a great choice for Wilson; their passion for sports, community building and depth of digital knowledge will greatly contribute to our ability to unify Wilson’s brand online. As a brand, we’ve been connecting with a player’s sports journey for 100 years. We get it; the hard work, the commitment, the joy in the process. Social is a fantastic way to support our player’s journey, to let them know we’re there with them, helping them attain their goals.”

Canadian 80-something-years-old department store Zellers is about to be replaced by Target as part of the latter’s strategy of complete world domination.

In celebration of the forceful Target takeover, Toronto-based shop John St. is giving the store a teary farewell, following Zellers’ beloved anthropomorphic bear mascot, Zeddy, as he attempts to start a new life for himself in the wild. Of course, Zeddy has spent the vast majority of his days in captivity, having been taken from his home and family while he was just a small cub. As you might imagine, Zeddy suffers without the loving embrace of the department store where he has spent most of his life. The “Everything Must Go” campaign from John St. proves that adapting to the untamed, isolating wilderness is harder than Tom Hanks made it look.

As we watch Zeddy slowly rot away under the stars, his plush fur picked at by vultures while Maria Bamford and a dog with concentric red circles painted around its eye move into his charmingly Canadian former home, we can’t help but feel a little sorry for the bear. Well, Zellers is giving you, loyal consumer, the opportunity to help Zeddy find a new home by adopting him through this Facebook app. One lucky winner will get $5000 donated toward their favorite charity as well as a $500 gift card to buy whatever is left at their local Zellers. If you have a hankering for some looting, visit Zellers’ Facebook page to plan accordingly.

-ArnoldNYC hired RAPP alum Matt Baker as VP, group planning director/director of digital strategy as well as former Atmosphere Proximity senior information architect Jabari Simmons as director of user experience.

-A British judge has reportedly ordered Apple to run ads saying that Samsung did not copy its design for the iPad. link

-Here’s some official word/details on Made Movement’s “Made Collection.” link

-In case you didn’t catch it, here’s Pereira & O’Dell’s ARG “Tap Joint,” which promotes Tom Hanks‘s new animated series, Electric City. link

-Just like last year, over 600 Digitas and Digitas Health employees headed down to the Henry Street Settlement on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to help renovate its facilities (one image from yesterday’s event above). This year,Digitas donated $600K of what it calls “sweat equity.”

-Seattle-based agency DNA welcomed MEC alum John Lanigan as senior media planner.

-NYC shop Campfire teamed up with USA Network to launch an “online news experience” for the cable channel’s new show, Political Animals. link

-Speaking of online activities, L.A.-based prodco Famous Interactive developed a social game to promote Ice Age: Continental Drift. link

-Business Insider has unveiled another slideshow (what it this, Bleacher Report?), this time focusing on the “37 creatives most lusted after by rival agencies.” link