Chipotle: A Love Story

Credits & Description:

Agency: Caa Marketing
Client: Chipotle Mexican Grill
Director: Saschka Unseld
Production Company: Passion Pictures
Art Director: Katy Wu
Production Company: Passion Pictures / London
Director: Saschka Unseld
Producer: Sibylle Preuss
Client: Chipotle Mexican Grill / Denver
Art Director: Katy Wu
Executive Producer: Debbie Crosscup
Executive Producer: Ryan Goodwin-Smith
Producer: Sibylle Preuss
Music Producer: Blake Mills
Music: Brittany Howard
Music: Jim James
Composer: Blake Mills
Editor: Fabian Peters
Music & Sound: Jim James / Brittany Howard
Post-production Company: Technicolor Postworks Ny / New York
Sound Designer: Tom Myers
Sound Production Company: Skywalker Sound, a Lucasfilm Ltd. Company / Nicasio
Description
A LOVE STORY is an animated short that follows entrepreneurs Evie & Ivan & their escalating rivalry that leads them to build valueless fast food empires. The film continues Chipotle’s tradition of innovative content that educates people about food culture to “Cultivate A Better World.” Set to a remake of the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” the song is performed by Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes) & Jim James (My Morning Jacket). Released July 2016, A LOVE STORY has been seen 40M+ times across YouTube, Facebook & other platforms. The song is available to stream on Spotify & SoundCloud.
Relevancy:
"A Love Story" highlights our specialized approach to entertainment such that our clients should think like a marketer and act like a producer. The film is available on social media channels, Hulu, YouTube and Chipotle's website. Additionally, the film aired before movies in theaters across more than 10,000 screens.
Execution:
“A Love Story” was distributed across Cinema, Hulu, Facebook, Snapchat, and other platforms. It is set to a remake of the Backstreet Boys' 1999 hit "I Want It That Way" re-imagined as a musically unprocessed duet. The song is performed by GRAMMY Award-winner, Brittany Howard, lead singer of Alabama Shakes and GRAMMY Award-nominated My Morning Jacket frontman, Jim James. The imaginative score was produced by GRAMMY Award-nominated producer Blake Mills. The song is streaming on Spotify and SoundCloud.
Campaign Description:
"A Love Story" is the story of how restaurants lose their way. This original, animated, short film follows two young entrepreneurs, Evie and Ivan, and the escalating rivalry that leads them to build valueless fast food empires. The film was directed by Saschka Unseld (Pixar's The Blue Umbrella, Oculus's LOST) and produced by Passion Pictures.
Outcome:
Released in July 2016, "A Love Story" was viewed over sixty million times. The film reminded people across the country why they loved the brand changing their perceptions at a time of business and brand necessity. An independent study published by Ace Metrix concluded the following. • Top 1% of ads ever tested• Highest scoring QSR ad ever tested• The ad not only scores a 789 among brand loyalists, but it also delivered a 705 among lapsed customers and brand considerers. • With Millennials (Ace Metrix's 21-35-year-old segment), "A Love Story" is a bigger hit than "Back to the Start" and "The Scarecrow," by 27% and 7%, respectively, in overall score• After 11 days on YouTube, "A Love Story" has over 1/2 as many views and shares than "Back to the Start," and 1/3 as many views and shares as "The Scarecrow"
Strategy:
The film continues Chipotle's tradition of animated shorts and innovative content that bring people closer to their food choices. Specifically, "A Love Story," uses animation and design to mirror the real history of how fast food declined in quality through competition and marketing schemes.
Synopsis:
Chipotle tells stories to change food culture, but on the journey to create it's next animated short, "A Love Story." Chipotle faced a corporate crisis on a national scale - one that would dramatically reduce the company's value and negatively impact its image. At that moment, a choice was made to continue the project but with continued evaluation. Ultimately Chipotle launched "A Love Story" as a reminder to its fans that Chipotle maintain its commitment to "Cultivate A Better World."