Meaningful or Manipulative – or Both?
A friend showed me a commercial yesterday that has gone viral in the last week (apparently, I’m behind the curve these days).
So, what do you think?
I have to say my reaction was mixed, to put it mildly. I wrote my friend:
WOW. First I thought, Who are the subversive geniuses doing this? Then at the end I thought . . . Chipotle?!?
It’s not that Chipotle (which was once owned by McDonald’s but isn’t anymore – and who counts among its organic and humanely pasture-raised meat suppliers Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms) is bad – it’s just that it’s a huge corporation, ya know? We’re not used to having huge corporations give a damn about these things. In fact, we’re used to them operating on the attitude of anything-for-a-buck (which includes we-don’t-give-a-sh**-about-your-health).
As a painful example, just last week Whole Foods was in the news. A former employee says the corporation trained its employees to lie about carrying products containing GMOs.
So, do the people who profit from Chipotle really care? Is the scarecrow for real? Or is it all just a brilliant scheme to sell burritos?
And here’s another thought: are we growing too cynical?
Who would blame us if we were, but wouldn’t it be nice to keep hope alive? When I read this article in the The Washington Post that shares a Funny-or-Die parody I have to admit I felt sadder than the scarecrow.
What are your feelings on this?
–Sandra Knauf
florasforum 
Thank you for sharing this. It hurts – and it’s important Someone begin showing/Telling what’s going on . . . (oooow, my heart hurts . . )
When I watched this video, I thought it was really cool, and that Chipotle must be very cool.Then I looked at a critique that was below the video (I just looked for it, and couldn’t find it),and it was written by a woman who had interviewed the company, and also did research and found all kinds of information that didn’t match what the ads are telling us. So, I’ll stick withbuying local and making my own meals most of the time. One thing Chipotle did that was of benefit to CFAM was to hand out three hundred $10 wooden coins for buying produce at the market. I think that was good marketing. And, it may have been just that…marketing.
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 19:27:59 +0000 To: moorsoap@hotmail.com
Thank you for your input! They gave out $3000 for people to spend at the Colorado Farm and Art Market? If so, WOW! (And yeah, good marketing!) Personally, I like Chipotle. The food is very good (even though it’s not perfectly-sourced, yet, I think they’re trying). They seem to be eager to have this conversation, so I’m going to give them the benefit of a doubt.