Jake Scott is an Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated director. A multi-disciplined storyteller, his work spans commercials, narrative and documentary feature films, and music videos. A partner in Ridley Scott Associates, Jake is also a founder of music video production company Black Dog Films, a prolific producer of some of the industry’s most innovative music videos.
Jake’s most recent commercials include the Pepsi x Gladiator II “Make Your Gameday Epic” campaign, celebrating the start of the 2024 NFL season and the highly anticipated release of Paramount Pictures’ Gladiator II. Named the No. 1 ad kicking off football season by AdAge, the anthem short features Megan Thee Stallion, who sings her version of “We Will Rock You,” and NFL superstars Travis Kelce, Josh Allen, Derrick Henry and Justin Jefferson as Gridiron Gladiators. Jake also recently directed Wrangler’s “Good Mornings Make for Better Days,” which observes the brand’s consumers breezing through the morning at a diner to the classic hit, “Jeans On.” The spot, bound to inspire repeated viewings, salutes Wrangler’s spirit and optimism, with an authentic cast including a real cowboy, and meticulous attention to detail in the various ways people truly wear Wrangler. And Jake directed Crown Royal’s first-ever Super Bowl spot, “Thank You Canada,” ranked the No. 1 Super Bowl spot of 2023 by CBS Sports and ranked in the Top 10 of Adweek’s Best Super Bowl spots of 2023.
Jake’s deep catalog of commercial work also includes the multi award-winning Johnnie Walker “Gentlemen’s Wager” films featuring Jude Law and Giancarlo Giannini, the beloved trilogy of Budweiser Clydesdale Super Bowl commercials and three short films for HBO Voyeur, a ground-breaking multimedia experience and campaign which won a Cannes Grand Prix and Cannes Cyber Lion. Jake also directed Nike’s mesmerizing Emmy Award-winning commercial, “Move.”
Jake’s feature films include the music documentary chronicling the height of Oasis-mania, Oasis Knebworth 1996 (2021). Music tastemaker NME gave it 5 out of 5 stars, writing that the fans’ “stories provide the emotional backbeat” and “the tunes vibrate through the floor and the picture is so crisp it feels like you’re plunged feet-first into the most pit.” His sports documentary Kipchoge: The Last Milestone (2021) is a tribute to Kenyan runner Eliud Kipochoge’s becoming the first person in history to run a marathon in less than two hours. The New York Times wrote that “the athleticism, physics and what one person calls the ‘bit of ballet’ of the event are all stirring to witness.” And his dramatic narrative feature American Woman made its debut at TIFF in 2019, with reviewers citing Sienna Miller’s performance as career defining.
Jake gained early directorial prominence with renowned music videos such as REM’s “Everybody Hurts,” The Strokes’ “Reptilia,” George Michael’s “Flawless, along with promos for Radiohead, Erykah Badu and many others. His first feature was Plunkett & Macleane, with Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller and Liv Tyler. He also directed Welcome to the Rileys, starring Kristen Stewart, the late James Gandolfini, and Melissa Leo.
