Chipotle, Scarecrows and Fiona Apple: Cultivating a New Culture

On September 11, Chipotle and MoonBot Studios released a short film advertising a new iPhone app called Scarecrow. What’s really creating the most buzz is the haunting effect the short has. Fiona Apple teamed up with the company to do an incredible rendition of Willy Wonka’s “Pure Imagination.” What the film really advertises, however, is Chipotle’s brilliancy in creating not just an advertisement, but a creative depiction of what it stands for and hopes to bring its consumers. Truly remarkable:

What makes this ad so effective is that it makes you feel. It sticks with you because you see that Chipotle isn’t just like “any other company” doing what it has to do to get you to buy their products. It’s in your face without being in your face in an abrasive manner. This is a profound change in message considering they were owned by McDonald’s until 2006 … and we all know how that food is produced.

Chipotle’s break from GMO’s and factory processed food is a huge PR point for them. To place it on a social platform like YouTube only helps their cause– sharing is made easy. Within five days it has garnered 4+ million views.

Some of the backlash comes from those who feel the short goes so far as to make them feel guilty for eating meat (note cow giving puppy dog eyes). This poses a problem for some people because, though they advertise that their cows are raised naturally and “happily”, they are still being slaughtered for your delicious steak bowl. The Scarecrow app earned 35,000 downloads the first day and four days later had a total of 250,000 downloads. Regardless of advertising the game and the small amount of backlash, the most good done was to their reputation as a whole. More people now know Chipotle’s message than ever before and feel confident their products were grown in a healthy and safe way. Great move if you ask me.

What do you think about their approach? Do you think it was their intention to have this effect? There isn’t as much to say about this advertisement as there is to feel.

[This blog post has been edited from the original, which can be found here.]

Sources:

Chipotle. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/Default.aspx?type=default MoonBot Studios. (Producer) (2013). The Scarecrow [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE