Gentleman Scholar Serves Up Potent Visual Cocktail for Otterbox

Gentleman Scholar, in partnership with Jacobson/Rost, is pleased to release a visually arresting spot for OtterBox Alpha Glass, the latest offering from the No.1 most trusted brand in smartphone protection. Gentleman Scholar’s imaginative spot is a boundary-pushing take on the element of glass, creatively driving the concept of phone protection to visceral dimensions.

A menagerie of rapidly cut mixed-media vignettes showcases glass in various forms: molten, glimmering, reflecting, and refracting light. Given that Alpha Glass is made of fortified glass, Gentleman Scholar pulled out all stops to push the visual interpretation of this element to the limit, incorporating innovative typography, live-action, design, and 3d – all while cohesively conveying OtterBox’s premium scratch-and-drop defense.

Gentleman Scholar directors Will Campbell, Will Johnson, and ACD JP Rooney worked seamlessly with Jacobson/Rost to bring a compelling brief to life. “We were given a lot of lateral freedom to make creative decisions,” says Rooney. “And we had a lot of fun in our tactile approach.” All live-action footage was shot in-house on their RED Scarlet-X, allowing the team to play around with wide ranges in frame rates and lighting setups.

Incorporating everything from buckets of paint to riot shields, champagne towers, and in-camera projections, the spot is a bold take on cell phone accessory advertising. “We loved taking the elements of live action, design, type, and 3d, and bringing it all together for a cohesive mixed-media piece,” says Campbell.

Continuing in Gentleman Scholar’s tradition of pushing the envelope, the OtterBox spot is a refreshing new take on advertising in the cell phone protection market. It joins Gentleman Scholar’s stand-out portfolio of cutting-edge work which combines creative expertise, technical prowess, and out-of-the-box storytelling.