Dive Brief:
- Chipotle is building on its “Behind the Foil” platform with a campaign that swaps out brand-shot footage for a montage of creator content, according to a press release.
- The effort enlisted 100 creators to step into the kitchen and participate in the prep work that goes into making Chipotle’s new Pollo Asado and Chili Lime Chips. Partners repeatedly espouse the freshness of the brand’s ingredients in 30- and 15-second spots.
- The small army of creators, which includes non-food creators, will share the content across a collective social audience that tops 100 million followers. This is the first national advertising push from Chipotle’s new Chief Brand Officer Fernando Machado.
Dive Insight:
Chipotle is putting creator content at the center of its latest “Behind the Foil” campaign, aligning with an industry trend that has seen more marketing gravitate toward the social-first tactic. Rather than working with a single creator on a custom meal or promotion, as it has done in the recent past, the Mexican fast-casual chain brought dozens into its restaurants to provide them a peek behind the curtain at how its new menu offerings are made. Chipotle has reformulated its Pollo Asado and is rolling out Chili Lime Chips, the first time it has introduced two limited-time menu items simultaneously.
In new commercials, a chorus of creators saying the word “fresh” in tandem is paired with commentary like “Chipotle is gatekeeping nothing.” The QSR stated that the creators were not working off of a traditional script or shot list and that no brand-shot footage is featured in the creative at all. Creators visited over 50 Chipotle locations across the U.S., U.K. and Canada and captured over 300 hours of footage in total.
“Real today is defined by many voices, not just by what a brand says about itself,” Machado said in a statement. “This is the first time in my career I’ve made a campaign without knowing exactly what the outcome would be. It takes a lot of trust to give up that control, but there’s power in leaving room for the unexpected.”
Along with factoring into a national TV campaign, the creator videos will be promoted through the individual partners’ channels, giving Chipotle a potentially wide social reach. Some of the creators took a more creative route to tackling the kitchen prep concept. Ben Treat, who specializes in stop-motion animation, will depict the burrito-building process through claymation while potter Emme Zhou is crafting custom, Chipotle-inspired ceramics pieces, according to the release. Social elements are running across short-form video platforms TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
“Behind the Foil,” which launched in 2019, uses documentary-style marketing and employee testimonials to shore up Chipotle’s positioning around transparency and use of real versus artificial ingredients. The brand is extending the platform during a summer when foodborne illness scares have rattled the restaurant category. Chipotle earlier in August pulled some jalapeños from specific restaurant locations following a Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota.
The creator-led blitz is the first major work for Chipotle from new agency partner Kids and provides a signal of how brand chief Machado is approaching the brand’s marketing. Machado, who built a reputation for disruptive activations in his past role at Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International, joined Chipotle in June, replacing longtime executive Chris Brandt. Chipotle earlier this month teamed with teen creator Salish Matter on a custom Kid’s Meal targeted at Gen Alpha.
Chipotle’s same-store sales, a key measure of restaurant health, rose 2.2% in Q2, making the company’s best results in nearly two years. Menu innovation, more engaging rewards and improved hospitality contributed to the performance.
