Can an animated ad touch your heart and make you weep? It happened to me during the Grammy Awards last week. Everyone’s been talking about the Chipotle 2- minute long commercial that aired. My husband and I were literally turning the TV off and going to bed when it came on and stopped dead in our tracks in silence to watch the whole thing.
The killer choice of the mournful Willie Nelson song didn’t hurt, either.
Chipotle has built a brand around offering fresh, nutritious food in a convenient way. They have bucked the trend that fast-food needs to taste like crap – and be just as bad for you.
Lynn over at Power Chicks International did a great video interview with business coach Tara Gentile and they briefly talked about this ad. What I loved is Tara’s theory that this ad works because it’s about shared purpose. Chipotle communicated that they were on the same side as their customers, that they were after the same goal. As Tara states, if a multi-million dollar company can make you root for them, than any business can do the same thing.
But it comes down to a strong brand strategy and living that brand out in your actual operations, products and services. If it turns out Chipotle’s suppliers are actually mistreating animals and injecting them with all sorts of homones in horrible living condititions, then they will have a huge brand crisis on their hands. But I am an optimist – and I’ve also eaten their delicious food – so I hope not.
The reason I work with branding clients on their mission statement is that it’s the linchpin of your brand. It concisely articulates what you stand for, what you believe and gives you a guiding light for running your busines. But it also gives your customers a shared purpose to support.
Watch the ad above. Then please tell us what you think about it in the Comments below and get some link love back to your site!
Photo: AnimationMagazine.net
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LOVED this video, hits all the right notes. Attractive, nice sound track, simple clear emotionally effective message. And it isn’t shoving the product down your throat, instead it is like a beautiful period at the end of a heartfelt sentence. Thank you for sharing this, I very much enjoyed the commercial (didn’t think I would ever find myself saying THAT!).
Jillian Harrington recently posted..Tis the Season to Receive
What an amazing commercial – brilliant! I was OK until the pigs turned to squares, then my eyes started to water. I’ve never eaten at a Chipotle, but now I want to find one and give them my business. It’s similar to the Clint Eastwood Super Bowl commercial in that the focus was on inspiring shared purpose, rather than hitting me over the head with how great someone’s product is. It moves the framing of the message from “me” to “we.”
Beth Buelow, ACC, The Introvert Entrepreneur recently posted..Beth, Out & About
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