I have absolutely no emotional reaction when I think of Chipotle. Instead, my thinking process probably goes something like this: “black bean burrito,” “fast food counter,” “husband got sick once.” So it was a complete shock to me to learn that the brand has such a strong following that when they changed their ad campaign recently, a group of Denver-based creatives started a “war” on Chipotle’s new ad campaign, called “Cheapotle.”
New ad campaign from Chipotle
An ad that is part of the "war" on Chipotle's new ad campaign.
Since I didn’t know about the new ad campaign until I found about this war, I did some reasearch about it. Apparently, Chipotle is focusing the campaign, called “My Chipotle,” on its variety of menu items and ingredients. Included in the campaign is a microsite, Mychipotle.com, where consumers can leave audio and video recordings talking about their burrito creations.
Now, listen to who this campaign is targeting, from an article in Brandweek:
“With this campaign, it is our intention to harness the power of our most loyal fans,” said Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle CMO, in a statement. “We want them to be a part of the process because we know they’re consistently expressing themselves through their menu choices. By encouraging them to tell us why they eat what they do, we think they’ll spread the word and encourage others to come in and give Chipotle a try as well.”
Hmmmm. Maybe some of their loyal fans will love this campaign and play along. But apparently they went very wrong with at least a few of those Denver-based loyal fans.
And I certainly can’t help but notice that the ad campaign was meant to spur community action–maybe just not the kind of community action that it actually has spurred.
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