Last Sunday, I had an experience in a movie theater that left me stunned, speechless and in tears.
If you’ve been to a movie theater lately, and if you get there early enough, you’ve probably had to sit and stare at an endless reel of bad ads for TV shows, cell phone services, personal injury attorneys and soft drinks. These are the “commercials” they show before the Previews.
I don’t know who had the bright idea of showing an endless stream of commercials to a captive audience of expectant moviegoers waiting for the movie to begin, but, objectively speaking, it’s a pretty smart idea. After all, the audience has nothing to do but sit there waiting and munching popcorn.
But do the ads have to be so…. bad?
Honest to Pete, the reel of commercials they show here at the local theater are so bad that my partner Mark and I are certain, dead certain, that they were scraped off the floor of some D-level advertising firm. They just… stink! Poorly written, poorly made, insulting and really, really annoying.
This is why my experience last Sunday, in that same theater, was so extraordinary, shocking and damned near miraculous.
My sweetie and I went to see the new movie, “The Ides of March” with George Clooney and Ryan Gosling. And because I am one of those people who insists on getting to the movies in plenty of time to find parking, buy treats, go to the bathroom and not miss one second of Previews, we were early enough to be tortured by that endless reel of crappy commercials.
We tried to ignore it, talk about other things, but there is something about a screen with moving images that just begs to be stared at! So we were half watching, half not, when something remarkable happened.
A colorful, animated commercial started, showing a landscape, then a farmer and his wife and baby, and a pig. The characters seemed to be created out of spheres, circles, ovals and tubes, and the soundtrack was a folk ballad played on guitar. There was something about the look of this animation combined with the music that immediately caught and held our interest. The animation continued, moving us through different scenes, telling a story, but we weren’t quite sure where it was taking us.
There was no dialogue, only an unfolding of images, telling a story, as characters, buildings, animals and different scenes appeared only to be transformed into something else. Willie Nelson’s voice started singing along with the guitar. It was a song I didn’t recognize, soulful, simple and aching (turns out it was Coldplay’s “The Scientist”). The story and the song became one, as if written for each other and I became mesmerized, transfixed. I was carried away into this story told with images and song. By the end, the message was clear, and I was moved to tears.
When it ended, I turned to look at Mark, and he had tears in his eyes as well. We both looked as each other, stunned and amazed by the experience we’d had watching this great little piece of animated art that happened to be… a commercial! A commercial shown in a movie theater. A commercial without dialogue. Just song and story.
It wasn’t until the very end that the name of the company being advertised was shown: Chipotle Mexican Grill.
As soon as we got home from the movies, we looked up Chipotle Mexican Grill online to find out more about the company and the advertising team that came up with this exceptionally beautiful, effective ad.
The advertising agency credited is CCA and Chipotle. The film was created by film-maker Johnny Kelly. And you can see both the commercial AND the making of the commercial here.
Oh, yes, and the movie “The Ides of March” was also quite good. But to be honest, I think I’ll remember and cherish the experience of watching this Chipotle ad more than I will seeing that movie.
This Chipotle ad not only renewed my faith in the possibility of inspiration, upliftment, meaning and beauty in advertising, it also felt like an affectionate kick in the rear. It was a clarion call, asking us to reach far beyond the ever-pervasive, mind-dulling muddle of what’s average, expected, passable and common, and instead use our creative ingenuity to communicate meaning, purpose and possibility through beauty, art and entertainment.
Go watch this little gem. Then, go create something extraordinary, something unexpected. Don’t just think outside of the box, get rid of the box altogether. Don’t settle for yet another dull imitation of what’s already been done; you have so much more to offer than a carbon copy.
Delight your audience by reawakening a truth they already hold in their hearts, a truth they can’t help but recognize as you kick off that thin layer of protection by telling an honest story in a new and beautiful way.