Given the successful launch of Progressive’s Motaur campaign in 2019, we were very excited to collaborate with Photographer Jaap Vliegenthart and Arnold Worldwide on their 2020 campaign.  The ads, promoting Progressive’s motorbike insurance, build on the customer insight that motorcycle riders are one with their bikes. Playing on the centaur creature from Greek mythology, the ads feature a half man, half motorcycle, a character known as Motaur.  Actor Terrence Terrell stars as our hero.

Ahead of the shoot, we worked closely with Jaap and the team at Arnold to explore many different ideas for environments. With archived work from Jaap’s folio and stock imagery from Getty, we put together low-res comps and technical pre-viz ahead of the shoot. These informed the cameras’ height and required lensing. The shoot took place at Milk Studios in Hollywood. The TJ team was on set to support Jaap and his crew and offer live retouching, comp reviews, and to ensure each setup would seamless integrate into the chosen location back plates. 

Once the final shots were approved, the two halves of our Motaur were brought together and carefully integrated into each environment, with corresponding lighting and grading adjustments for a seamless result.