In an extraordinary marketing gambit, the billionaire chief executive of Columbia Sportswear has thrown down a gauntlet to flat Earth believers, offering them control of his multi-billion dollar family business in exchange for photographic proof of the planet's edge.
The 'Expedition Impossible' Challenge
Tim Boyle, the 76-year-old CEO worth an estimated $1.6 billion, announced the audacious competition on Tuesday. As part of the brand's new 'Expedition Impossible' campaign, Boyle directly addressed those who subscribe to the theory that Earth is a flat disc. He challenged them to locate the physical end of the world, capture an image of the abyss beyond, and send it to the company.
"This message is for flat Earthers. You guys claim there's an end to the Earth. Well, just go snap a picture, send it to us, and you get the assets of the company. All of it. No paperwork, no lawyers, no catches," Boyle declared in the promotional video, filmed at the company's Oregon headquarters.
The Stakes and The Catch
The promised reward for this world-altering discovery is nothing less than the reins of Columbia Sportswear, a business founded by Boyle's family in 1938 and now valued at around $3 billion. Boyle promised everything from the meeting rooms to the coffee machines would belong to the winner.
However, a twist swiftly emerged. A man claiming to be Boyle's lawyer appeared in the ad to reveal the fine print. Columbia has created a separate entity named 'The Company, LLC', which holds assets valued at $100,000. This is what a successful flat Earth photographer would actually inherit, not the main corporate empire.
The company has also set specific criteria to prevent creative shortcuts. The submitted photo must show "a visible, physical end to the planet Earth," which could manifest as an infinite drop, a void, or endless clouds. They explicitly stated they will not accept a normal cliff, a cul-de-sac, or "your buddy Dave legally changing his name to 'The Edge.'"
A Centuries-Old Conspiracy Theory Meets Modern Marketing
The modern flat Earth movement traces its roots to 19th-century England and Samuel Rowbotham, who published 'Zetetic Astronomy' in 1849. Today's adherents often express deep distrust of scientific institutions like NASA, dismissing overwhelming evidence—from ships disappearing over the horizon to satellite imagery—as part of an elaborate global conspiracy.
Dr Ian Whittaker, a physics lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, explains the perceptual reason behind the belief. "At ground level, humans can only see a few miles from one side of the horizon to the other, which is not enough to see the curvature of the Earth," he told the Daily Mail, comparing a human on Earth to a microbe on a basketball.
Despite recent, clear footage of Earth's curvature captured by civilian astronauts on a SpaceX mission in April—which sparked further online debate—the theory persists. Boyle, whose grandparents founded the company after emigrating from Germany, ended his challenge with a tongue-in-cheek product plug: "Hey, flat Earthers, do me a favor. If you're going to the edge of the Earth, wear Columbia. You'll need it. Best of luck."
