All projects
AI2024Entertainment · AI
McLaren AI: Turn fans into Formula 1 drivers in one photo
100,000+ portraits in 2 weeks · 45% social share rate · 15+ media features
- Role
- Solo build
- Timeline
- 3 months
- Year
- 2024
- Client
- Motorsport Promotions
Stack
ReactPythonStable DiffusionAWSRedis
The problem
F1 marketing wanted a once-in-a-season viral moment that put fans inside the McLaren brand — not just behind another social ad.
Approach
Web experience where fans upload a selfie and instantly see themselves as a McLaren F1 driver — in the cockpit, on the podium, in the pit lane. Built to handle massive traffic spikes and deliver photoreal results in under 20 seconds per portrait.
Result
100,000+ AI portraits generated in two weeks, 45% of users shared theirs on social media, and the campaign got picked up by 15+ motorsport publications.
100K+
Transformations
45%
Social share rate
<20s
Avg. gen time
15+
Media features
Highlights
- Turns any selfie into a McLaren F1 driver portrait
- Multiple scene presets — cockpit, podium, pit lane
- Survived viral traffic spikes without going down
- 45% of users shared their portrait organically
“We expected maybe a few thousand people to try it. Then 100K portraits got generated in two weeks and our socials exploded. Every single one looked real — fans were sharing them everywhere. Easily our best campaign ever.”