The Scarecrow
Chipotle Mexican Grill2013
The Scarecrow is a 2013 online animated film and mobile game for Chipotle Mexican Grill, created by CAA Marketing (Creative Artists Agency), Los Angeles.
Why it works
An animated short and an iPhone and iPad game launched together in September 2013. In a dystopian city where the fictional Crow Foods controls all food, scarecrows have been driven off the farms to staff its factories; one of them sets out to bring wholesome food back, scored by Fiona Apple’s haunting cover of “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka. Made for Chipotle by CAA Marketing with Moonbot Studios, the Oscar-winning animators, it is studied as purpose-led branded entertainment built as one property across film, game and song, with the game rewarding players with Chipotle food offers. The follow-up to 2012’s “Back to the Start”, it won two Grand Prix at Cannes in 2014: in PR, entered with Edelman, and in Cyber, where juror Joe Alexander credited the two campaigns with reinventing fast-food advertising in the US. PRWeek reported 12.5 million YouTube views and more than 650,000 game downloads.
Techniques
- Storytelling In a dystopian city run by a fictional food giant, a scarecrow forced into factory work sets out to bring wholesome food back.
- Purpose and cause Film and game cast the brand on the side of wholesome food against corporate control, with players rewarded through Chipotle food offers.
- Jingles and music A haunting cover of a song from Willy Wonka scores the film, giving the story its melancholy mood across film, game and song.
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