Selfies, the art of taking a photo of yourself, have shot to prominence in recent years, with the rise of smart phones and social media – but it is not an altogether new concept. The first known selfie was taken by Robert Cornelius, way back in 1839.

Since then, the selfie has come a long way – in 2012 Time magazine considered the selfie one of the ‘top ten buzzwords’ of the year and in 2013 the selfie made it to the big leagues, taking its place in the Oxford English Dictionary.

And 2014 is set to become the biggest year yet for the humble selfie. A selfie orchestrated by Ellen DeGeneres at this year’s Oscars ended up being the most retweeted image ever – and co-sponsor Webgains are challenging you to go one better at this year’s Performance Marketing Awards.

There is a bootleggers’ haul of Champagne and Canadian Club up for grabs for the best selfies on the night, judged across the following ten categories:

  • Best Advertiser
  • Best Publisher
  • Best Network
  • Best Agency
  • Most People in a Selfie
  • Best Use of a Prop
  • Most Awards in a Selfie
  • Best Recreation of a Movie Moment
  • Best Selfie Bomb
  • Best Dancefloor Selfie

Photos uploaded to Instagram with the hashtag #PMAWARDS & #Bootlegless will be entered into the competition and appear on screen at the event. On the night you’ll be able to check out the haul in person, at Webgains’ Bootleggers Corner.

Recent leaked photos have shown networks, affilinet and Affiliate Window, in secret, behind-the-scenes training and there are already rumours flying around that there could be an unprecedented ‘two-categories-in-one-selfie’ attempt, with a dancefloor recreation of the Dirty Dancing lift.

To be in contention on Tuesday night, make sure that your phones are charged and your selfie poses are honed. Winners will be announced in the days following the Performance Marketing Awards.