[Video] Must Watch — Chipotle’s New Scarecrow Ad Reveals Its Beautiful, Dark, Twisted, Dystopian Food Fantasy

Chipotle’s new ad-meets-short film, “The Scarecrow,” is powerful, disturbing, and visually arresting, all at once. Set to a haunting backdrop of Fiona Apple’s “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, it offers a chilling, vivid picture of Big Agriculture, including everything from the absurd over-processing to mechanized milking and green-goop-infused chicken.

If you’ve seen Food, Inc., you’re already privy to this info; if not, well — consider Chipotle’s message transmitted. The cow says it all.

Chipotle describes its own twisted vision for the ad —

“‘The Scarecrow’ film and game are designed to help educate people about the world of industrial food production that supplies much of what they eat. The film is set in a dystopian fantasy world where all food production is controlled by fictional industrial giant Crow Foods. The Crow Foods factory is staffed by scarecrows who have been displaced from their traditional jobs on the farm and are now relegated to working for the crows by helping them maintain their unsustainable processed food system.”¹

Chipotle’s message is a bold indictment on the fast food industry, but given the strides they’ve taken to enhance the quality and sustainability of their food — such as adopting the “Food with Integrity” campaign, stripping GMO items from the menu, using rBGH-free/antibiotic-free/natural meat, and sourcing produce locally — they’ve at least partially backed up the lofty talk.

Still, the skeptic in me has to wonder how much of this is somewhat hypocritical — so much of the video plays up the locally-sourced dimension of food, yet nebulous statements like this exist on their website:

“It’s not possible or practical for us to source all of our ingredients locally. Still, we believe it’s important to do as much as we can.”²

Only time will tell as transparency improves, but it’s a powerful visual and message either way; and as I’ve hashed out before, Chipotle can suffice as a nutritious, balanced, muscle-building meal when you construct it the right way.

What’s your take on Chipotle’s new ad? Are they more crow or rebel scarecrow? Drop your PoV in the comments.

Follow @LeanItUP 
 

References, Notes, Links

1. Chipotle [↩]
2. Chipotle — Food with Integrity [↩]

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Bryan DiSanto

Owner & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP

Bryan DiSanto is the Owner & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, ACE-CPT & CSN, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness/nutrition nutjob.

When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.

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