Indian Motorcycle “Scout Rogue”

Indian Motorcycle approached Revelator because they knew the next generation of riders deserves a bike like the Scout Rogue. We love working with our friends at Indian, and knew right away that the creative approach to their new Rogue campaign should establish a new kind of tone. This campaign should invite riders in. It should be an invitation to a group that knows how to express their individuality and creativity. 

This group feels empowered to shake off past expectations and create a new definition of rider: style, community, connection, and social status. We knew this younger target audience is both media savvy and socially sophisticated. They can sense when the rough edges have been sanded off to appeal to the largest group possible.

That’s why we were excited to take a direct and unapologetic approach that speaks specifically to this younger audience’s demand for authenticity. An aggressive visual style, naturalistic lighting, dynamic riding shots, stylish locations, and rigorous casting would be the tools that helped us convey our message. 

We wanted to leverage the emotional, lifestyle-oriented approach we established in the Chief campaign launch to help introduce Rogue’s bad-ass presence and style. Rogue’s style and the audience was one Revelator director Matt Muir identified with and was really inspired to take a personal approach to help bring this project to life. 

Milwaukee-based ad agency Speed Shop brought clarity and precision to the creative strategy, which built such a great blueprint for the campaign. They were a tremendous collaborator when it came to bringing the direct and inspiring message to the next generation of riders.

Our goal with the cinematography was to convey the visceral energy and sense of connection in
our story. The camera will always be moving, as we rumble across a bike detail on the road or we follow our hero through the crowd with hand-held camera. This cinematic documentary style will provide dramatic energy and a gritty, authentic feel. The naturalistic lighting style will include warm flashes of lens-flares, cool magic hour diffusion that leads into the string-light glow and neon-soaked elements in our stylish social setting. Though too ominous to be template, the unapologetic attitude in this Valvoline example can be an inspiration. This new generation of riders documents their lives, so the camera will follow the cast with a behind-the-scenes kind of energy. Glimpses of people looking right into the camera, bright spotlights hitting couples on dance floor, even a rider shooting her friends with her own vintage camera…all reinforce the values of low-fi and grainy aesthetics valued by the new generation of riders.

We knew the locations and art direction would help underscore the stylish, but no-nonsense world of the new Scout Rogue. For our story, the location scout would need to include spartan, auto-leaning parking lots, vibrant urban streets, and a colorful bar setting. People on a sidewalk would catch a glimpse of bikes on the streets, and we’d build momentum as our riders land at a moto-meetup, to ground the key location in our story.

Revelator director Matt Muir wanted the wardrobe to feature subtle cues to Indian clothing and gear but nothing overt. The wardrobe of our hero riders and other cast should convey our theme of club-style-meets-modern-performance. That meant stylish and comfortable, not bright or fussy. The same went for the art direction and settings of our parking lot rider meet, and the final bar parking lot. Matt wanted the look of these settings to have well-worn character but posses a clean and premium feel.

The cinematography would also help convey the visceral energy and sense of connection in
our story. The camera should always be moving, as we rumble across a bike detail on the road or we follow our hero through the crowd with hand-held camera. This cinematic documentary style provides dramatic energy and a gritty, authentic feel. The naturalistic lighting style will include warm flashes of headlights and cool magic hour diffusion that leads into the string-light glow and neon-soaked elements in our stylish social setting.

Director Matt Muir wanted to show that this new generation of riders documents their lives, so the camera will follow the cast with a behind-the-scenes kind of energy. Glimpses of people looking right into the camera, bright spotlights hitting couples on dance floor, even a rider shooting her friends with her own vintage Hi8mm digi-camera. All of the visual rules should reinforce the values of low-fi and grainy aesthetics we were aiming for in the production.

In addition to our hero riders: Levi, Katerina, and Ricky, we conducted a casting call
to find a diverse range of real riders and additional cast members that would help embody the community of our social setting. As a production company, Revelator is always striving for an array of unique faces and body types in every production we execute. This dynamic cast would need to carry the cool confidence and unapologetic attitude of our spot. We knew our extended cast would be the glue to our setting: a bustling, active, and inspiring group of trendsetters who manifest our authentic social set. Although our video style would be aggressive and dynamic, our cast should feel grounded and natural, but that doesn’t mean minimal or muted. We needed this outgoing group to set the tone at our moto meet-up and symbolize the higher emotional benefits of our campaign. Pride and status should exude from each cast member that personify this next generation of riders.

As you can see from the finished product, our amazing cast delivered. Right alongside them were seasoned crew members the Revelator team has depended on for years. Add a trusting and creative client, and you get another dream project from the Indian Motorcycle Company. Check back soon, we might have another one up our sleeve to share in the near future!