Progressive's parental pitfalls

For a while now Progressive's Dr. Rick has been attempting to stop young people from turning into their parents, and 2024 sees his quest continue. 

Created by Arnold Worldwide Boston, and directed by Martin Granger through Moxie, this new spot follows on the heels of one starring LL Cool J and, this time, Dr. Rick is helping young homeowners to get rid of items in their house that might trigger their ‘Parentamorphosis’ affliction, making them seem far too much like their parents.

From tissue box covers to butter containers, the only way forward is to get rid of these items, and Dr. Rick is there to guide the way.

“Despite the fact that Dr. Rick is a fake doctor, and that 'Parentamorphesis' is a fake affliction, the key to this campaign is and always has been capturing the truth,” said Sean McBride, CCO of Arnold. “A good one should make a viewer go ‘haha, my mom does that,’ or worse, ‘uh oh, I totally do that.’ So it’s a delicate dance between dreaming up characters that are totally new and pretty absurd, and reflecting back real life as honestly as possible. For me, this latest instalment captures that balance perfectly. In fact I’ve got a pile of ‘perfectly good’ scraps of wood gathering dust in the basement right now. I’ll never use it. But what am I supposed to do, just throw it away?”