Chipotle gives its national ad campaign to 100 creators and films nothing itself

Chipotle has started a national ad campaign in which every shot was filmed by someone outside the company. The restaurant chain let 100 creators, meaning people who make videos for social media, into more than fifty of its restaurants in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. They filmed whatever they wanted behind the counter. Chipotle then cut the 345 hours of film they produced into thirty-second and fifteen-second ads for television, plus tall, phone-shaped versions for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

The campaign was announced on August 31. It is the newest part of Behind the Foil, an idea Chipotle has used since 2019 to show its kitchens and fresh ingredients. This time there were no scripts and no lists of shots to get. The company says it filmed nothing itself. The people taking part ranged from food and craft accounts to a potter, a domino artist and a stop-motion animator. Together they have more than 100 million followers.

This is the first big campaign from Fernando Machado. He joined Chipotle as chief brand officer this year, after a long spell at Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King. It is also the first work from KIDS, a Brazilian agency founded by Icaro Doria that Chipotle recently took on as a creative partner. Machado said the idea reflects that “real today is defined by many voices,” rather than by what a company says about itself.

Chipotle handed a whole national TV budget to creators

Using creator videos in ads is not new. Handing over a whole national television budget to creators is. Most brands still treat creator clips as an extra for social media, alongside a main film made by an agency. Chipotle has turned that round. It expects that rough kitchen footage will look more believable than polished studio film. As Marketing Dive notes, the chain is trying to reassure customers about food quality after recent news stories about food safety.

The business picture helps explain the hurry. Chipotle reported a 2.2 percent rise in sales at restaurants open for at least a year in the second quarter. That was its best result in almost two years. It is backing the campaign with two products available for a limited time: a changed Pollo Asado recipe and new Chili Lime Chips, which is a first for the brand.

Fernando Machado brings his Burger King stunt playbook

Machado built his name at Burger King with stunts that earned far more free coverage than the company paid for. The creator-only format follows a similar idea more quietly. When 100 people post their own versions, the videos reach people the media plan never paid for. Agencies will be watching two things. One is whether the approach passes the checks that make sure ads appear in safe places. The other is whether a fast-food industry built on glossy product shots can manage without them.