Ethos gets a mascot via Sam Stephens and COED

COED’s Sam Stephens and his team were tasked with creating a brand new animated mascot for the Silicon Valley insurance newcomer, Ethos and their agency, Ceiling Train. Even in this age of AI instant gratification, it was critical that the team started with pencil on paper, building and refining the character over 2 weeks of daily creative meetings. AI generated characters aren't eligible for copyright, and the client wanted a Mascot who would last for years. 

The result is Otis, a photorealistic 3d mascot tasked with giving dads a "gentle nudge" about getting life insurance. Building Otis's voice and mannerisms right meant that Sam was involved in every step of VO casting and direction. Finally, he served as animation director, overseeing the team of Maya animators, Houdini experts, and Nuke compositors who helped bring him to the screen. 

‍ ‍ designing Otis

‍ ‍ Otis evolves