Wes Anderson’s Spot For Montblanc Is The Collab We Didn't Know We Needed

Imagine someone whose favorite writing implement is a fountain pen, and they likely would look right at home in a Wes Anderson movie. Early 20th Century gentleman mountaineer? A well-coiffed bearded man holding an elegant leather briefcase in a wood-paneled, nearly symmetrical library? Anyone with something called a “writing room” — especially if they’re working on a historical novel about feudalism? Well, those are all characters in the new Wes Anderson spot for Montblanc, the purveyor of fancy fountain pens (which also makes watches and hand-crafted leather goods, the ad would like you to know).

The three-minute video, made in honor of the brand’s 100th anniversary, is the unexpected collaboration you wonder how anyone hadn’t thought of before. Directed by Wes Anderson and starring the director, Jason Schwartzman, and Rupert Friend, it’s a bite-sized morsel of aesthetic delight centering on the three lounging around the Alps in an imagined Montblanc headquarters while wearing excellent tailoring and knitwear. It covers the history of Montblanc (like how, 100 years ago, a cap for a fountain pen was quite the innovation) and its classic Meisterstrück cigar-shaped pen through to Wes Anderson’s own design for the brand, a limited-edition brightly green bullet called The Schreiberling, or “The Scribbler,” that’s set to be released in 2025.

The campaign also includes similarly almost-symmetrical imagery taken by photographer Charlie Gray of another Wes Anderson regular, Waris Ahluwalia, as well as actors Jing Boran, Lee Jinuk, and Maude Apatow.

And to round out the 100-year-anniversary celebration, Montblanc is offering free online calligraphy workshops so you too can embrace the brand’s twin ethos of “leave your mark” and “inspire writing.” Find the schedule of virtual events here if you’re ready to get not-so-accidentally Wes Anderson.