Speaking in Century-Old Brand Languages
Apr. 2026 - Communication Arts
Otis D. Gibson, founder and chief creative officer of GERTRUDE, discusses how his creative agency refreshes legacy brands with progressive strategies and campaigns.
How did you discover your love for visual communications, develop your skills and enter the industry? I was fortunate enough to be given an internship when I was just nineteen and doubly lucky to be surrounded by a lot of very talented people to learn from. From day one, I knew that being an advertising creative was what I was meant for. It felt like being at ease while learning a foreign language quickly. I studied at The Cooper Union and the Pratt Institute, too, so that helped.
Tell us the story behind your creative agency GERTRUDE, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025. What led you to establish your own agency, and what has it been like to expand from your initial Chicago location to London and New York? I wanted to create an agency built on craft and innovation, one that I wanted to work for. GERTRUDE’s founding strengths in global strategy, creative and innovation led us to offices in New York City and London for like-minded talent with global reach. The GERTRUDE name is intentionally strong, distinctive andnurturing. We’re an agency with high esteem for our clients and high expectations for our work and people, but also an agency that wraps up days by 5 p.m., mostly.
At GERTRUDE, you have plenty of clients creating consumer packaged goods with well-known brands, like Coca-Cola and Rice-a-Roni. What are the challenges and benefits of creating work that adds to an established brand? I think both the challenges and benefits are actually one and the same. On one hand, to be entrusted with some of the world’s biggest and best brands is truly an honor. At the same time, trying not to fuck things up is also nerve-racking. The key is to try to bring a new point of view to each and every project that feels organic to the brand while having a forward-looking and forward-sounding tone of voice.
What was the mission behind creating MATTY and BELLE Sans, a two-style sans serif font for toy company Mattel? What was your process for creating this font? Our mission was to build a unified type system and single company-wide voice across a massive portfolio that would work everywhere Mattel shows up, reducing licensing sprawl and cost while still feeling like Mattel. MATTY and BELLE Mattel Sans were made to do two things at once: one, MATTY, with three weights across English, Greek and Turkish, unifies everything Mattel says worldwide; and two, BELLE, with its special characters and glyphs library, leaves room for delight when the work needs to feel expressive. We built Mattel’s first proprietary typeface in 80 years with a type system that works the way Mattel works: reliable, flexible and playful when it matters.
"There are so many injustices in the world that it would be a privileged and worthy effort to make ad campaigns that drive change for the betterment of your fellow human beings."
Tell us about your recent campaign for Fisher-Price. What was it like to create spots that refreshed the brand’s perception in the public eye? GERTRUDE had the monumental job of leading the Fisher-Price strategic and creative refresh, positioning the nearly century-old toy icon for an expansive future. Since Fisher-Price is a brand so formative for parents and babies during early childhood and known throughout the world, our chance to create a campaign for it inspired the work to be really thoughtful about what’s shown, said and evoked. It’s special work. I’m proud to say that the reception to the campaign was resoundingly positive.
Other than the work, what have been some of your favorite projects you’ve created at Gertrude? How did they change your perception of what you can do with design and advertising? My other always-ongoing design project is our building THE BRNDHAUS PL-ZEN. It’s been a literal creative dream and an amazing canvas that enables extreme creativity that can be expressed across a number of interesting mediums, including painting, fabrication, murals and architecture, among others.
If you could choose any product to create a campaign for, what would it be and why? Anything that can add real meaning and value to people’s lives—kids, animals, housing displacement and hunger, among other issues. There are so many injustices in the world that it would be a privileged and worthy effort to make ad campaigns that drive change for the betterment of your fellow human beings. Can’t think of a better way to be of service.
What is one challenge facing ad agencies that they need to address to stay relevant? Tighter deadlines and decreasing budgets. Lack of time for craft.
Do you have any advice for creatives just starting out in the industry today? Be curious. Be brave. Don’t rush.