Meanest ‘win an iPhone3GS” Contest On The Internet?

19 Nov

Is it because he is too young to know any better –  but yet as a multi-millionaire, can do whatever he wants? Or has success made him too arrogant for our own good? Whatever the reason, teen CEO Ed Nash recently had his iPhone App – called Fit or Fugly – approved and launched on iTunes. And whilst the App has been crazily successful, it is based on a rather cruel intent and has facilitated some rather cruel actions.

The App claims to be able to rate the attractiveness of any face – on a scale from 0 to 10! The blurb on the App claims that:

The program uses Fibonacci’s golden ratio which is based on symmetries via key anchor points on a human face – eyes, ears, chin, mouth and nose. Symmetry has been accepted as the measurement to discover a humans attractiveness.

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Sounds nice and scientific doesn’t it (what hapenned to “beauty is in the eye of the beholder?)  And that’s all well and good. Its the use of the term “fugly” that has us a bit bothered. Especially when you consider that Answers claims it is a “Shortening of f#@&ing ugly“!

But the “meanest” title has been earned from the contest launched on the fit and fugly website. The contest invites us to go through several potentially humiliating steps in order to be the winner of the iPhone 3GS!http://www.fitorfugly.com/images/uploads/Gi/nn/c0efdd02651c8c41525f61955155ed5f_small.jpg

The contest requires us to have our face rated by the App and then to PUBLISH the results to their site and let people vote on it. Now you would think that only those rated a 9 or better (the proverbial HBs or HGs)  would put their mugs up there. But not so!! So far the photos uploaded have ratings of 5, 6, 7 and one 9 (with the face largely covered by a hat – so maybe the ratings are not that reliable despite their claims!)

And BTW, when we looked at this contest photo – rated a 5 by the App – we were left wondering: what does it take to get a TEN!

Of course, others may think its a giggle! Or a chance to get all their friends to help them win an iPhone? Or admire the brilliant Branson-like PR being used for this App (nothing like a bit of controversy or poor-taste to get talked about) Let us know what you think in the comments section below!