Facial Profiler was a free Facebook app created to promote Coca-Cola Zero by the advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. [1] [2] The app used face recognition technology to search a database of voluntarily participating Facebook users to match people based on appearance. [2] [3] [4] The software's algorithm analyzed face attributes like skin color, face structure and angles of the face. [1] Once matched, users could contact their look-alike via their Facebook profile. [1] [2] [4] [3] [5]
Coke Zero claimed the inspiration for Facial Profiler came from the drink itself. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] The tagline for the project was: "If Coke Zero has Coke's taste, is it possible someone out there has your face?" [7]
Building the face database
Facial Profiler's initial phase, launched in September 2009, involved the creation of a "face database". [1] [4] [6] Faces were gathered from photos that users personally uploaded and tagged to Facebook, stored photos uploaded from user hard drives and webcam photos taken via the app itself. [1] [3] Once the database gathered a statistically significant number of faces from both genders, various age groups and multiple ethnicities – the matching process began on December 3, 2009. [3] Reportedly, more than 288,000 people installed the application by December 2009. [1]
Matches and voting
When a match was generated, a corresponding percentage of accuracy was assigned to the match. [5] [6] As more users submitted photos, the match accuracy was to increase. [5] Users could vote on the accuracy of their match and other matches. [4] [5] [6]
Privacy concerns
The app adhered to Facebook privacy policies. [4] It only searched photos of those who have voluntarily opted into the app. It removed user photos from their database if the user uninstalled the app. [4] [5] [6] [7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Clifford, Stephanie (December 30, 2009). "Seeking a Familiar Face and Finding a Coke". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ a b c Van Grove, Jennifer. "Find Your Digital Twin on Facebook". Mashable. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ a b c d Reisinger, Don. "Coca-Cola Launches Face-Matching Facebook App". CNET. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g Rivera, Matthew (December 3, 2009). "Coke Tries Facial-Recognition on Facebook". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ a b c d e f "Coca-Cola Uses Photo-Recognition App to Promote Zero". Inside Facebook. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ a b c d e Eaton, Kim. "Coke Tries to Sell Coke Zero to You and Your Doppelganger". Fast Company. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ^ a b c Warren, Christina (2009-12-03). "Coke Zero Facebook App Searches for Your Digital Double". Mashable. Retrieved 2009-12-03.