Chipotle Made Creator Footage the National Campaign
Chipotle cast 100 creators for the way they make things, then built its national Behind the Foil campaign from their footage.
Image: Chipotle
Chipotle gave 100 creators access to its kitchens and made their footage the national campaign.
The creators filmed during morning prep at more than 50 restaurants across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. They returned with 345 hours of unscripted footage. Chipotle turned that material into three 30-second spots for national television, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
Chipotle says every second came from the creators. They worked without traditional scripts or shot lists, and no traditional director or production company managed the shoot.
The casting is a big part of why this works
Lindsey Gamble’s analysis focuses on who Chipotle invited into the kitchen. The group included food creators along with artists, animators, and musicians. Stop-motion animator Ben Treat rebuilt the burrito-making process in clay. My Miniature Life recreated a Chipotle kitchen at dollhouse scale.
One brief went to people who make claymation, miniatures, food videos, and other kinds of work.
For a brand team, the roster can handle decisions that often get packed into the brief. Ben Treat already makes claymation, so Chipotle didn’t have to hand him a claymation concept. My Miniature Life makes tiny sets and brought that format into the restaurant. Their work gave Chipotle a reason to cast them.
How I would approach this
This campaign would be exciting for me as a content creator. I could bring my Better Than Everyone series into the kitchen, write a skit, or find the humor in the ridiculous premise of Chipotle giving me access to the whole kitchen during morning prep.
Tell me what has to be accurate. Let me see how the food gets made and work beside the people making it. I can use my format to decide what happens on camera.
For a brand manager, list the product details that must be accurate, then leave the remaining decisions to the creator. They can put those facts into work their audience already recognizes.
Thanks to Lindsey Gamble for covering the campaign in his newsletter.