Chipotle Love Story

Photo: Chipotle Mexican Grill, A Love Story

Has Chipotle fallen in love with itself (or is this a signal from Steve Ells he may be tossed out of his own company soon)?


When Life Gives You Lemons…(Maybe a Chipotle reference to the bag of lemons they feel they’ve been handed recently?)


Perhaps a Metaphor : Dreaming of being together, loved, and accepted by peers?

Because surely there isn’t an implied romantic love among competitors and rivals.


Innocence is lost. Rivalry to out-do the other takes over as motivation.


Hurt and confused by the loss of customers, disbelief at who has taken them (interesting given early

relationship between McDonald’s and Chipotle).


How do you like me now?! Just stole your customers and revenue. See me holding it?


From friend to foe in a split second.


Ivan adds in a playground at “Mister Orange” to win over the kids.


Similarities between Taco Bell color schemes and KFC “10-Packs” are clear.


The “bucket” is clearly about KFC, $.99 about dollar-menu items at QSRs, and “Contains No Real Bacon” is a ‘we’re better’ statement, more characteristic of the

Chipotle of today than “The Scarecrow” champion of yesterday.


Reference to others using Chipotle sauces (they’ve sued a few in the industry for it) and a reference to oversized sodas with the

“Jumbo Juice” (a.k.a. “Supersize Me”/McDonald’s dig?).


Is the hot dog Nathan’s or BK’s recent entry?


All day breakfast is a reference to McDonald’s (who won back customers from Chipotle with it in Q4). More reference to orange ‘spicing it up’ in a different dish is

a reference to the proliferation of Chipotle-spiced LTOs and new menu introductions at other restaurant chains.


Endless Menu: a reference to CDRs like Red Robin’s.


“Ingredient Costs” and “Number of Menu Items” is accusing the QSRs product quality.


Poor puppy to tug at our heart strings, taking shelter like a homeless person in the litter of corporate America.


Notice how well the color schemes match up?


Ivan & Evie, now grown up, are still rivals.


“NEW” Sparkle Flavor leaves a bitter taste in Evie’s mouth.


Ivan is not happy with the product from “Mister Orange” either.


So Evie heads to the root of the problem –into the kitchen with “Artificial Ingredients.”


And is aghast at what she sees.


See the similarities with Apple’s 1984 commercial?


Subtle references to the Starbucks food cases and McDonald’s tray service.


“Sparkle Taste Booster” or “Pink Slime”?


Could this be in reaction to the chipotle-flavored seasoning mix Taco Bell launched?


Sparkle flavor going on pizza, tacos, and hamburgers. Two of these items Chipotle sells already;

the third they are rumored to be serving via a proxy.


Evie is caught on a security camera inspecting her own company and marked as intruder.


The evil eye in the sky becomes unhappy.


Then Evie is attacked by her own company.


By snakes, to represent evil.


Our owner is thrown into the trash.


And the company’s founder is eaten alive by the machine she’s built.


Evie is then thrown down the trash chute.


Then brushes away the trash and sludge from the gutter she was tossed into by her own company.


Evie’s competitor, Ivan, has been thrown out of his company, too.


Shame, embarrassment, guilt.


Evie and Ivan then remember their original mandates.


Confusion, disbelief, and a sense of both wonder and humility/responsibility for what they’ve created.


Recognizing their evil, Evie and Ivan get back to their “hand squeezed” roots.


The corporate rivalry has come together to serve Chipotle-style food.


Ivan’s dream of taking Evie to the movies is realized with the “Movie Nights” tip jar.


Evie and Ivan have come together to start a food truck –and they’re still growing lemons and oranges.


These two have cultivated a better world by not fighting any more.


Love is rewarding, but Chipotle is not showing any to its competitors.

Chipotle Love Story

Food

Transcript of Chipotle Love Story