1 00:00:00,166 --> 00:00:02,836 - Chipotle combines Kacey Musgraves and Coldplay 2 00:00:02,836 --> 00:00:04,796 for their heartwarming musical sequel, 3 00:00:04,796 --> 00:00:07,090 and Instacart's first ever brand campaign 4 00:00:07,090 --> 00:00:09,259 doesn't say anything about the actual brand. 5 00:00:09,259 --> 00:00:11,511 I'm Jeff Beer, and this is Fast Company's 6 00:00:14,848 --> 00:00:16,933 The miss this week goes to Instacart. 7 00:00:16,933 --> 00:00:19,644 The company launched its first ever brand campaign this week 8 00:00:19,644 --> 00:00:22,772 with a new ad called "Your Mom's Homemade Short Ribs." 9 00:00:22,772 --> 00:00:25,984 It tells the story of a young man who loves, you guessed it, 10 00:00:25,984 --> 00:00:27,694 his mom's homemade short ribs, 11 00:00:27,694 --> 00:00:30,030 and the fact that no one can deliver them. 12 00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:31,531 If you could get them delivered, 13 00:00:31,531 --> 00:00:34,034 the spot walks us through how his mom's short ribs 14 00:00:34,034 --> 00:00:35,827 would become a commoditized cog 15 00:00:35,827 --> 00:00:38,788 in the giant machine of a chain restaurant hellscape. 16 00:00:38,788 --> 00:00:40,123 Just another victim 17 00:00:40,123 --> 00:00:43,877 of a rampaging capitalist system run amuck, so to speak. 18 00:00:43,877 --> 00:00:46,880 The pitch is, Instacart can deliver the ingredients 19 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,591 so he can make his mom's tasty short ribs at home. 20 00:00:49,591 --> 00:00:51,843 This ad is saying a lot, 21 00:00:51,843 --> 00:00:54,095 about the restaurant industrial complex, 22 00:00:54,095 --> 00:00:57,557 the proliferation of takeout delivery apps like DoorDash, 23 00:00:57,557 --> 00:01:00,268 the inherent value, emotional and nutritional, 24 00:01:00,268 --> 00:01:02,312 of homemade food with real ingredients. 25 00:01:02,312 --> 00:01:05,482 But one thing it doesn't talk that much about is Instacart. 26 00:01:05,482 --> 00:01:07,317 This feels more like an ad for groceries 27 00:01:07,317 --> 00:01:09,069 than any specific service. 28 00:01:09,069 --> 00:01:09,903 Why should I use Instacart 29 00:01:09,903 --> 00:01:11,946 instead of just going to the grocery store? 30 00:01:11,946 --> 00:01:13,698 How is it better than what I'm doing already? 31 00:01:13,698 --> 00:01:14,699 How does it work? 32 00:01:14,699 --> 00:01:15,658 Why does it matter? 33 00:01:15,658 --> 00:01:17,619 There could be perfectly amazing answers 34 00:01:17,619 --> 00:01:18,995 to all of these questions. 35 00:01:18,995 --> 00:01:20,955 The problem is, this Instagram ad 36 00:01:20,955 --> 00:01:22,832 doesn't seem to deliver any of them. 37 00:01:22,832 --> 00:01:24,751 This week's hit goes to Chipotle. 38 00:01:24,751 --> 00:01:27,879 Way back in the olden times of 2011, 39 00:01:27,879 --> 00:01:29,506 Chipotle launched a brand campaign 40 00:01:29,506 --> 00:01:31,341 called Cultivate A Better World, 41 00:01:31,341 --> 00:01:33,093 aiming to raise awareness and affinity 42 00:01:33,093 --> 00:01:35,470 for the brand's commitment to high quality ingredients, 43 00:01:35,470 --> 00:01:37,806 family farms and sustainable agriculture. 44 00:01:37,806 --> 00:01:40,850 The crown jewel of it all was a cute stop motion short film 45 00:01:40,850 --> 00:01:42,268 called "Back to the Start," 46 00:01:42,268 --> 00:01:43,645 featuring a Willie Nelson cover 47 00:01:43,645 --> 00:01:45,522 of the Coldplay hit "The Scientist". 48 00:01:45,522 --> 00:01:47,232 After first exploding online, 49 00:01:47,232 --> 00:01:50,318 the brand used it as its first ever national TV ad 50 00:01:50,318 --> 00:01:52,487 by airing it in its two minute entirety 51 00:01:52,487 --> 00:01:54,072 during the 2012 Grammys. 52 00:01:54,072 --> 00:01:55,698 Now, a decade later, 53 00:01:55,698 --> 00:01:58,118 the brand has done what one does in 2021 54 00:01:58,118 --> 00:01:59,536 when you have an entertainment property 55 00:01:59,536 --> 00:02:02,664 with any residual cultural goodwill whatsoever, 56 00:02:02,664 --> 00:02:03,832 it launched a sequel. 57 00:02:03,832 --> 00:02:06,209 The new piece, "A Future Begins," 58 00:02:06,209 --> 00:02:08,670 takes us back to the original farm and family 59 00:02:08,670 --> 00:02:11,131 and the challenges of becoming a young farmer, 60 00:02:11,131 --> 00:02:13,508 all set to Kacey Musgraves' cover version 61 00:02:13,508 --> 00:02:15,093 of Coldplay's "Fix You." 62 00:02:15,093 --> 00:02:17,011 A lot has happened to Chipotle as a brand 63 00:02:17,011 --> 00:02:18,012 over the last decade, 64 00:02:18,012 --> 00:02:20,807 not the least of which was being plunged into 65 00:02:20,807 --> 00:02:23,518 and then emerging from a food safety scandal 66 00:02:23,518 --> 00:02:24,352 that brought to light 67 00:02:24,352 --> 00:02:26,813 the company's Food with Integrity initiative 68 00:02:26,813 --> 00:02:28,940 was more marketing than brand purpose. 69 00:02:28,940 --> 00:02:31,818 More recently, it's been playing the role of model marketer, 70 00:02:31,818 --> 00:02:34,445 leading the way on how a brand can and should 71 00:02:34,445 --> 00:02:35,655 interact with culture. 72 00:02:35,655 --> 00:02:38,241 From becoming the most followed brand on TikTok 73 00:02:38,241 --> 00:02:40,326 to hosting a job fair on Discord, 74 00:02:40,326 --> 00:02:43,288 to giving away a $100,000 worth of Bitcoin, 75 00:02:43,288 --> 00:02:46,666 to opening a restaurant inside of the Roblox metaverse. 76 00:02:46,666 --> 00:02:48,668 Chipotle CMO Chris Brandt told me 77 00:02:48,668 --> 00:02:51,087 that these moves come from a core strategy 78 00:02:51,087 --> 00:02:52,630 of always looking for new ways 79 00:02:52,630 --> 00:02:54,340 to make Chipotle more visible, 80 00:02:54,340 --> 00:02:56,259 more relevant and more beloved, 81 00:02:56,259 --> 00:02:58,761 while creating content that actually fits the audience 82 00:02:58,761 --> 00:03:00,388 and how they use each platform. 83 00:03:00,388 --> 00:03:02,015 Given how our media consumption habits 84 00:03:02,015 --> 00:03:03,850 have evolved over the last decade, 85 00:03:03,850 --> 00:03:05,476 perhaps it's boldest move here 86 00:03:05,476 --> 00:03:08,062 is harking back to a two minute animated ad 87 00:03:08,062 --> 00:03:09,981 with a high profile TV drop. 88 00:03:09,981 --> 00:03:11,649 It launched online this week, 89 00:03:11,649 --> 00:03:14,903 but the ad will make its broadcast debut on Thanksgiving Day 90 00:03:14,903 --> 00:03:18,281 during the NFL's Raiders, Cowboys game on CBS. 91 00:03:18,281 --> 00:03:20,575 Ultimately, Chipotle is smartly betting, 92 00:03:20,575 --> 00:03:22,452 once again, 10 years later, 93 00:03:22,452 --> 00:03:24,245 that an adorable animated story 94 00:03:24,245 --> 00:03:25,663 supporting young farmers 95 00:03:25,663 --> 00:03:29,584 set to a soundtrack of a superstar covering other superstars 96 00:03:29,584 --> 00:03:32,086 is something that just might get our attention. 97 00:03:32,086 --> 00:03:32,962 That's it for this week, 98 00:03:32,962 --> 00:03:34,005 thanks for watching.