Kolbo.AI and AdArena are running a $10,000 challenge, and the brief is one sentence: advertise something that doesn't exist.
Invent the product. Name it. Then make the film that sells it. It doesn't have to be real. It has to be believable.
What to aim for
The point of this challenge is the shot a camera could never take.
Impossible scale. Weather, light and geography no production could ever book.
Impossible place. A location that would cost a fortune, or doesn't exist at all.
Impossible camera. A move no crew could rig: through walls, through fire, through scale, through time.
If a normal crew could have filmed it, you left the tool on the table.
Four laws of the genre
- Commit to the lie. Play it dead straight, start to finish. Never wink at the camera.
- One product, one promise. One reason to exist. Not five features.
- Earn the last frame. Everything builds to the product and the line.
- Survive a rewatch. Shock lands once. Craft lands twice.
The trap: a funny idea shot badly is a meme. This is judged as advertising, not as comedy.
Where ideas come from
No format list. No approved style. Start with a question.
- What object should exist, but doesn't?
- What's the most beautiful ad for the most worthless thing?
- What happens if you sell something tiny like an epic?
- What does an ordinary ad look like in the year 2140?
- How was it made, a thing that was never made?
- What shot would a director kill for, and no crew could rig?
How entries are judged
Five questions. That's the whole panel.
| Weight | Question |
|---|---|
| 30% | Is it believable? No drifting logos, no melting hands, no faces that read as AI. |
| 25% | Is the idea fresh? A product worth inventing. If the joke is familiar, it isn't the idea yet. |
| 20% | Could it have been filmed? Scale, physics, worlds, things no crew could ever stage. |
| 15% | Does it sell? One product, one promise, one reason to want it. |
| 10% | Does it sound right? Grade, pacing and mix. Sound is half of any commercial. |
The bar: could this run in a cinema, and would anyone notice the product isn't real?
Logo placement is required
The Kolbo.ai watermark goes top right, always on. An entry without the watermark is not eligible. Logo files are in the brand kit.
- 16:9 at 1920 x 1080, logo 280 px wide, 4% margin. 9:16 at 1080 x 1920.
- Top right corner, about 4% in from the top and the right edge, in either ratio.
- About 50% opacity, readable over any shot: present, never shouting.
- Full duration, first frame to last, end card included. It never leaves.
- Never bottom, never centre, never fading in and out, never behind subtitles.
Non-negotiable
Must have:
- The Kolbo.ai watermark, top right, for the whole film
- An invented product with an invented name
- An end card: the product, its name, one line
- Original work you made for this challenge and own outright
Never:
- No real brands, logos or lookalikes
- No real people: celebrities, politicians, likeness or voice
- No medical, financial or health claims, even as satire
- No weapons, drugs or gambling as the product
- No music or footage you don't hold a licence for
Specs
- Format: 16:9 or 9:16
- Length: 20 to 60 seconds
- Quality: 1080p or higher
- Language: English
- Tools: any AI tool you like. Kolbo isn't required. The watermark is.
Before you submit
- Would anyone question it?
- Does it play as a commercial, not a clip?
- Is the product invented, and instantly clear?
- Does every frame hold up when you pause it?
- Is the watermark top right, on every single frame?
How to enter
Entries close at the end of September 2026. Submit one finished film on AdArena. Post it publicly with #FakeAdChallenge and tag @kolbo.ai.
Building your entry in Kolbo.AI? Use code TD2026 for 30% off credits.
The product isn't real. The ad has to be.