Mugshot Yourself, is a web app that takes your photo and uses advanced Fast Image Replacement technology to blend it with vintage mugshots from the 19th century to create someone new but also recognizably you. Created by BBC America along with social media agency Social Bomb and technologist Kevin Slavin, Mugshot Yourself used an advanced technology in a way that hadn't been done before. A fan-based social campaign, Mugshot Yourself introduced people to the fascinating world of Copper, the new cop drama set in 1864 NYC. BBC America partnered with Mark Michaelson, building his arresting "Least Wanted" collection of vintage mugshots into the experience, combining user-submitted photos to artfully composite your face onto the face of an actual 19th century criminal. Mugshot Yourself analyzed your face in a captured photo, factoring in environmental data about lighting and the rotation and angle of your face in order to blend your image with a historical mug shot curated by Michaelson.BBC America knew that one of the most unique things about Copper was its strong sense of time and place – New York in the civil war era is a fascinating period – and there’s no one out there more adept at creating immersive digital experiences about place than Kevin Slavin. Bringing in Mark Michaelson’s amazing images brought Mughsot Yourself to another level that hit on all the touchpoints and themes of the show in an interesting way. People love to play with their identities online, to share interesting things with their friends, and to talk about things they love. This format usually works best with shows people already know – The Simpsons, Mad Men – and Copper wasn’t out yet. BBC America really had to focus on people’s fascination with New York City, with history, and with true crime – all great subjects – and combine these things in a compelling way. The results were greater than anticipated, generating over 15M social impressions from shared user mugshots across BBC America’s social media platforms. Mugshot Yourself received wide coverage from press outlets including Fast Company, The Daily Mail, Huffington Post, AOL, USAToday.com, Laughing Squid and Digiday, among others. The activity propelled Copper to become BBC America's highest rated series premiere of all time.
