Here's the Chipotle add I mentioned way back at the beginning of the quarter. It's a longer length video with a developing story around a scarecrow in his busy industrial life run by the crow overlords. The score is a chilling rendition of "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory sung by Fiona Apple.
The interesting thing about the 3 and a half minute add is the fact that the chipotle brand is lightly suggested by the presence of the peppers in the clip, and the burrito the scarecrow makes. The Chipotle Logo doesn't even come up to the very end. I think the primary purpose of this was to make the video seem more message driven rather than product advertisement. Since we've been talking about messages in class, I thought this would be a good example to bring back up.
The message(s) is certainly meant to elicit an emotional response. So what audiences do you see this being aimed towards, and why? Are there multiple messages being portrayed? What publics would benefit? And last, do you think an add like this is focused more on attitude or behavioral change?
It might help to know that this video is a companion film to an app-based game that can be downloaded free at www.scarcrowgame.com. Knowing this, does the message, audience or attitude/behavior aspect change?
Hi David, I am so glad that you posted about this commercial! I think that it is an excellent example of the direction that advertising is headed. The commercial obviously has an agenda that it wants to promote and a specific target audience. It seems to be playing into the organic and farm grown food trend that is currently popular. The clip works to build up the brand of Chipotle, marketing it as an environmentally conscious business that truly cares about bettering the world. It also seems to be an effort by Chipotle to distance itself from its previous owner McDonald's. Falling in the shadow of the golden arches comes with many preconceived notions that Chipotle is currently combating. They are promoting themselves through the scarecrow commercial almost in opposition to McDonalds-- they are a healthy and environmentally friendly fast-food option. Their approach to the commercial itself is very unique. I do not believe they showed the commercial on television, and instead relied solely on social media and youtube. The scarecrow game app is another element of advertising that I have not seen before. If the game becomes popular, it could prove to be a very effective way to remain constantly in the minds of its audience. This game could ideally encourage players to elaborate on the content of the game, essentially reminding them of the brand every time they open the app on their phone. I am interested to see if other businesses will also adapt the app as a new form of advertising.
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you posted about this commercial! I think that it is an excellent example of the direction that advertising is headed. The commercial obviously has an agenda that it wants to promote and a specific target audience. It seems to be playing into the organic and farm grown food trend that is currently popular. The clip works to build up the brand of Chipotle, marketing it as an environmentally conscious business that truly cares about bettering the world. It also seems to be an effort by Chipotle to distance itself from its previous owner McDonald's. Falling in the shadow of the golden arches comes with many preconceived notions that Chipotle is currently combating. They are promoting themselves through the scarecrow commercial almost in opposition to McDonalds-- they are a healthy and environmentally friendly fast-food option.
Their approach to the commercial itself is very unique. I do not believe they showed the commercial on television, and instead relied solely on social media and youtube. The scarecrow game app is another element of advertising that I have not seen before. If the game becomes popular, it could prove to be a very effective way to remain constantly in the minds of its audience. This game could ideally encourage players to elaborate on the content of the game, essentially reminding them of the brand every time they open the app on their phone. I am interested to see if other businesses will also adapt the app as a new form of advertising.