There's No Getting Around It: The New Chipotle Ad Is Amazing
It's being called "the most beautiful, haunting infomercial you'll ever see."
And with Oscar-ready animation from the acclaimed visual effects wizards at MOONBOT Studios set over a score of Fiona Apple covering "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 cult children's film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, is it any wonder that Chipotle's "stealth" promo for a free iOS game is already on a fast-track to become one of this year's most successful marketing campaigns — all without barely mentioning the word "Chipotle."
Add to that a powerful anti-factory-farming message, and all other ads should just give up:
In a dystopian fantasy world, all food production is controlled by fictional industrial giant Crow Foods. Scarecrows have been displaced from their traditional role of protecting food, and are now servants to the crows and their evil plans to dominate the food system. Dreaming of something better, a lone scarecrow sets out to provide an alternative to the unsustainable processed food from the factory.
Already America's favorite "Mexican restaurant chain," Chipotle has shied away from running ads on TV, believing its target audience — Millennials — "are skeptical of brands that perpetuate themselves."
Since parting ways with its former majority owner McDonald's, Chipotle has tried even harder to live up to its mission statement of "food with integrity."
Back in July, for example, the company announced plans to become the first US restaurant chain to strip its menu items of all genetically engineered ingredients.
Chipotle has high hopes that The Scarecrow will officially cement its status as a fast food chain with a brain.