Chipotle’s Anti-Factory Farming Ad Wins a PR Award

Jun 17, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Chipotle Mexican Grill and Creative Artists Agency, took top prize in the Cannes Lions PR category for its commercial called “The Scarecrow.”

The almost four-minute ad has stirred controversy, especially for those involved in the agriculture community, who’ve taken issue with the way the video portrays modern farming practices. In particular, the ad contrasts what it dubs as “factory farming,” to promote “sustainable farming” or non-GMO food production.

In the clip, the storyline follows a scarecrow character on a journey about the food system. The ad begins with the scarecrow entering what resembles a factory called Crow Foods, which shows chickens and cows in confinement being injected with needles, with what is assumed by the viewer to be antibiotics and/or hormones. It then contrasts those images with the same scarecrow character picking fresh vegetables in a garden.

Interestingly, the creators of the Chipotle ad campaign won an award in 2012 with a similar video that aimed at promoting “sustainable farming practices” versus “factory farming.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.