A two-minute film called “Back to the Start,” produced by Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill and CAA Marketing, has won the 2012 GRANDY Award.
The award was presented as part of the annual International ANDY Awards, which recognize work in the advertising industry. The GRANDY is essentially a best in show award given during the ANDY awards.
The film is about a farmer’s journey to sustainable farming and featured family farming advocate Willie Nelson’s cover of the Coldplay song “The Scientist” .
The $50,000 prize that Chipotle and CAA Marketing received will be donated to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation
” ‘Back to the Start’ was never intended to be an ad; it was meant to be a short film to invite people on a journey with us to a more sustainable future,” said Mark Crumpacker, chief marketing officer at Chipotle.
“Since we have a great story to tell, our challenge is to tell it in the most compelling way possible, and we have found that less traditional forms of advertising are a better way to do that,” Crumpacker added.
The film first appeared online in August , ran on 10,000 movie theater screens during the fall. It also aired during the 2012 Grammy Awards telecast.
The film was directed by London-based Johnny Kelly .
Jesse Coulter , co-chief creative officer at CAA, said “Chipotle has always done things differently and their marketing follows the same approach.
“To receive such a prestigious award from advertising’s creative community is a testament to Chipotle’s innovative approach to brandtelling,” said Coulter.
A jury of advertising professionals is selected each year to review hundreds of submissions and select one to receive the GRANDY.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
