The point to this event was that there was no point, and I think that's why it connected and engaged with thousands.

 

The only stated mission: "If everyone is ugly, then no one is. In an effort to raise awareness for absolutely not a damn thing, please join me in changing your profile picture to a hideous picture of yourself the week of 2/3/2014. There is no incentive to join this effort, nor is there a good reason, nor is it connected to a Dove Brand soap ad campaign."

 

And the public responded with their #FugMug. In the end, the event spread quickly and the public invited over 10,000+ Facebook Users total (far beyond my social circles). The event wall saw 100+ posts or more, and hundreds more participated in this non-event, filling Facebook feeds and changing their profile picture to the ugliest face they could possibly make. 

I think people latched onto this creative experiment for a few reasons: 

 

1. It was the anti-Facebook event -- it wasn't selling anything, it wasn't promoting someone's band, and it required little to no effort on the part of the user.

2. It was appropriately dumb and silly 

3. There was no cause behind it. This event followed on the heels of multiple "change your profile pic" for a cause campaigns, and I sensed some exhaustion around that trend. This was also (in a way) meant to shed a light on "slacktivism" as well.

4. It was the opposite of irritatingly filtered and obsessed-over Selfies -- this was raw, in your face ugliness.