Have you ever wondered if there is someone out there who looks just like you? Probably everyone has entertained the thought at some point. But the thought of it actually happening? Well, if you're really that curious, here's your opportunity.
The Facial Profiler, a new facebook app, is actually an ad campaign launched by Coke Zero, its point being that the calorie-free version is so much like the real thing, they can prove it by showing that every single person on the planet has a doppelganger. Here's how it works: you upload a photo of yourself and you're matched with a similar-looking Facial Profiler user. The idea is that you can find your mirror image, just the way Coke has in Coke Zero
I suppose it's kind of a cool concept, if you can get past the high creepiness factor. I don't know if I want to know that there's another person walking around out there with my face. And what happens once I find that person? Do we build an online bonding relationship and hope to meet in person one day so we can sit and stare at each other?
Coca-Cola is aware of the potential privacy concerns that a facial-matching app could raise, but it has been working with Facebook for months to ensure the app follows the site’s privacy rules. Facial Profiler users will be able to send friend requests to their lookalikes, but Coke admits it doesn’t quite know how members will use it. "Alex Burnard, a creative director for the ad firm that worked with Coca-Cola on this project, has watched members’ reactions when they find their matches, saying that it introduces “a new social dynamic” that people haven’t encountered before.
The software is based on the same kind of technology used by law-enforcement agencies to locate individuals within large pools of people. Watching the ad on the Coke Zero website feels like watching a preview for a psychological thriller about doppelgangers, or a 20/20 special on identity theft. It's pretty intense. As a big fan of Coca-Cola products and avid facebook-user, I'm not so sure about this one, but you just have to go to the website and see for yourself.
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