Nissan sets indoor advertising record at Dubai International Airport

The display is 6.2 metres in height, spans a headspinning 28 metres in length and is illuminated by 183,024 white LEDs. The 174m2 surface area is fittingly emblazoned with another worldbeater - Usain Bolt.

Bolt has been given the title of Director of Excitement as part of a major global brand campaign by the carmaker. 'The world's fastest man' came to the attention of Nissan executives after the athlete apparently opted to drive their sporty GTR around his native Jamaica and the Olympian will now cast a watchful eye over the airport's 57 million annual passengers.

The lavish billboard was described as integral to their brand strategy for the region and beyond, by Roel De-Vries, Nissan's Vice President of Global Marketing. The 'Nissan Power 88' initiative targets 8% global market share for the firm by FY16 with 8% sustainable consolidated operating profit.

"They key of our message going forward is 'innovation that excites'. We will always innovate and aim to create excitement," said De-Vries.

"It is also the way we communicate and the way we market and this is where this campaign comes in. We're launching an overarching 'What IF_' campaign that challenges individuals to think differently about our brand and about cars in general," he continued.

Nissan has a rich heritage in the region which dates back to 1957, the year the first Nissan vehicle was sold in the Middle East. In 1994 Nissan set up their regional head office in Jebel Ali. The last 12 months has seen the carmaker aggressively launch new Sunny, Micra, Altima and Sentra models in the Middle East.

The record-breaking display:
-170m2 total surface area
-183,024 white LEDs
-3,500 total man hours for installation
-100KG weight
-60% lighter and consuming 40% less power compared to a traditional light box

The 'What IF_' brand campaign is also taking place in other major airports. Associated with this Guinness World Records are JC Decaux, the concessionaire of Dubai International and Mindshare, Nissan's media buying agency for the Middle East.

Nissan will be running this colossal campaign for years to come and the giant advertisement will be on display for at least a year within Terminal 3. Staff from the Guinness World Records (GWR) team were on site yesterday to confirm a new world record in an entirely new category.

"The previous record was actually a standard size, so there are hundreds of those all around the world," explained Paul O'Neill, VP of GWR Commercial.

"A slightly geeky fact is that the display is 10mm longer when the LED lights are turned on, due to the heat generated, than when they are turned off," he also told AMEinfo. "We've got laser measuring tools and steel tapes, which obviously don't stretch and will measure to various international standards."

The Guinness World Records team say they will take the smaller measurement - to 5 decimal places.