Is Alfa Romeo's Billboard A Hoax? We Say Yes

Two out of three Billboardom experts agree this billboard is a hoax.

If you liked the series of underwater billboards, here's another one for you, via AgencySpy:  AlfaRomeo is viralling a video of its billboard being lowered into the Challenger Deep (wiki) in the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth at some 11,000 meters (36,000 ft).

But is it real?  I don't think so. Jalopnik points out certain inconsistencies, but here's, I think, the real tell -- the rope.  There's no way for the 11,000 meters of rope to fit on the spool of the size shown in the video.  See for yourself with this handy spool capacity calculator. I'm assuming (generously) the 3mm fiber diameter, 20" for traverse, 10" for barrel, and 15" for flange. The most you can fit on the spool of that size is 3,577 meters, and the spool in the video isn't even full.

(x-posted to AdLab)