Ridiculous Feats of Durability by Marcus Thomas

When Roppe Corporation became the first commercial floorer to successfully integrate DuPont Kevlar into their rubber stair treads, they turned to Marcus Thomas, whose niche knowledge of the commercial flooring space made them the perfect agency to re-introduce Roppe to the market with its new line of rubber stair treads with Kevlar.

The idea of reinforcing stair treads with the same material found in ballistic body armor and military vehicles might seem extreme – even ridiculous. Marcus Thomas embraced that idea and developed product demonstrations that were nothing like the industry standard tests.

Dubbed 'Ridiculous Feats of Durability,' these tests of toughness showed how Roppe Rubber Stair Treads stand up to things like a falling piano and a glass trophy case. Other surprising characters and elements added to the ridiculousness of the demonstrations, which were filmed on Phantom high-speed camera to capture the destruction in super slow motion.

Due to the nature of the shoot, the process was extremely high risk/high reward. While the product had been through nearly a decade of research and development, the team only had one take to see how it would stand up to the extreme testing conditions. The spots are not just intended to be engaging and memorable, but to also drive home the key message of how the durability of Roppe’s Kevlar products meet a serious need for potential customers.