Let’s meet back here tomorrow and compare scores.
Also, we can discuss if they might be overpromising calling this interactive advertisement a “game.”
Like most marketers, I remain impressed at the leadership they display, the high ground they stake out, and the clever ways they have of getting their social friends and fans to voluntarily participate in their marketing. Every now and then, though, I feel their preach exceeds their grasp (I am so sorry about that pun—it occurred to me as I was typing and I couldn’t convince my fingers to halt and they typed it and now they won’t go back and delete it; my fingers apparently enjoy awful puns more than my brain) (again, I apologize).
What my fingers meant by that pun in the previous paragraph is, the road the world-savers at Chipotle have chosen is so high, and the ground they are staking is so noble, sometimes they risk looking holier-than-thou. Is there risk of a backlash? If they become too trendy, too preachy, too twee about their practices it might seem less like grabbing a bite and more like attending the church-restaurant of your choice.
(Anecdotally, I know a few folks in their demo who are starting to feel like it’s a tedious obligation to attend lunch services the Chipotle temple and just slip out for a quick, no-nonsense Southwestern bite at Qdoba or someplace. Shhhhhhhh.)
None of this is a criticism of their boldness and imagination in making true, actual strides in improving the integrity of the food chain both in terms of health and humane treatment of the source material. Go, Chipotle, go, go. Lead that way.
My only point is, when they depend on people following their mission simply because it’s the right thing, the result might be less than engaging. But let’s wait till tomorrow.
Maybe it’s the next Mario Kart, this Faux Food Fight.
