This week, I'm anointing another ad I saw for the first time during the Grammys, Chipotle's "Back to the start" with simple animation set to a Willie Nelson version of Coldplay's "the scientist." I love the simplicity of the message – both in what is said and how it is said. The music has a haunting feeling that really draws you in. And the combination with the animation tell a very complex story in a very simple fashion.
Basically, it shows a farmer raising pigs, cows and chickens. In one long pan across a time line the farm gets bigger, chemicals and DNA enhancements make the animals bigger. They are suddenly being raised more in a factory line fashion. they are processed and shipped. But eventually the farmer is bothered by all this and goes, as the lyrics say, "back to the start." The farm flips back to the old way of doing things and the animals are free to graze and look like the normal ones from the beginning of the story.
The time line finally ends with a signpost that touts "Cultivate a better world" and the chipotle.com web address. Using Willie Nelson, who has ties to smaller farmers going back to the beginning of Farm Aid is a brilliant choice. His version sounds good and it's not just a random celebrity tie-in, it actually makes sense for the message. I never thought of the food chain as being one to use organic ingredients or be about healthy choices for both our bodies and our environment. And maybe they aren't. But the ad sure makes me feel like they are. And any downloads of the song off iTunes goes to benefit Chipotle's charity, "The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation."
So, what did you think? Like it or feel it's too preachy for a brand? Let me know what ads you think should be Ad of the Week in future weeks and maybe you'll see them here.
