Royal Enfield Dares Riders to Trust Their Gut for New Bike Launch

Droga5 London, part of Accenture Song, has teamed up with Royal Enfield to launch its new scrambler, Bear 650. The work is Droga5’s second campaign for Royal Enfield and follows the launch of the Himalayan 450 in 2023.

Harking back to 1960’s California, the bike builds on Eddie Mulder’s iconic victory in the Big Bear Run: a wild point-to-point race across Big Bear Lake in Southern California where more than 500 racers competed for the top spot. A newcomer to the scene, and only 16 years old, Eddie Mulder won on a Royal Enfield, embedding the brand in the legend of Big Bear. 

The campaign, 'In Gut We Trust', comprises a 75” film and eight key visuals, alongside 33 editorial images consolidated into a launch brochure, and takes inspiration from Eddie’s gutsy performance. 

Droga5 London worked with photographer and director Elliot James Kennedy, who focused on bringing movement, energy and a level of gritty determination to the shots. Building on this attitude he used orange acrylic paint for the key visuals, echoing iconic bike posters from the '60s, to accent the imagery. This crafted touch is emphasised with handmade Letraset headlines. 

Highlighting the mindset of trusting your gut, Droga5’s approach gives substance to a category that is traditionally defined by aesthetics, rather than leaning into the reality of motorcycling: the fast moving, gut decisions that characterise the riding experience of a tuned-up scrambler. 

The accompanying film begins with a voiceover where Eddie describes the start of a desert race. The piece of moving image sees a young rider follow in Eddie’s footsteps by riding across the desert on a Bear 650, with the visuals chopping and changing to match the quick decision making necessary in a point-to-point race.

The campaign will debut in November across out-of-home, social media and digital and run in North America, India and Europe.

Adarsh Saxena, global brand lead - adventure, at Royal Enfield, said, “While bikes may have come a long way since the 1960s, the mentality of riders and the importance of trusting their gut, remains the same. We wanted the design of the Bear to be reminiscent of those times, and build on the iconic Interceptor model. That’s why it made sense to reimagine what those iconic '60s ads would look like today for the launch campaign.”

Design director, and creative lead, Matteo Alabiso said, “It’s not everyday you get to launch a product with such a rich history. With the Bear 650, Royal Enfield have reimagined what Eddie Mulder’s bike would have been like today. Our design language used the same approach. We looked back at techniques and trends of the time and reinterpreted them under a contemporary light.”