Category — Food

Willy Nelson’s haunting rendition of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” serves as the backdrop for this Chipotle commercial/ short-film that aired during the Grammy’s on Sunday. Once again, Chipotle nails the socially conscious advertising category. In just over 2 minutes the piece by filmmaker Johnny Kelley vividly illustrates the rapid modernization we’ve seen in the food industry and makes a commitment to choose a better, more sustainable way – helping open people’s eyes to the insanity of the current food system and expertly positioning Chipotle at the epicenter of that change. Here’s hoping the momentum continues.

Download the song here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-scientist-single/id458479961. Proceeds go to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation.

It’s always good to get out of the marketing bubble that is NYC and see what people in the rest of the country are doing. Out in Denver this fall I came across a POP display for a partnership Kashi and Bear Naked (A Kashi Company brand) launched with this great organization TerraCycle encouraging customers to send in their empty boxes and packaging. TerraCycle upcycles and recycles discarded products to help reduce the volume we are sending to landfills as well as saving the raw materials needed to create packaging and products.

They have “brigades” all over the world collecting trash and sending it in for points and cash donations ($.02/ unit!) to charities as well as collection programs at major retailers and venues. Some of their products are a little kitschy – Lays gym bag anyone? – but their thinking is so innovative in its simplicity and impressive in their scope of action. I love the eco-friendly fire log for my friend’s fire place (you know who you are), the bike rack for my imaginary back yard and the seed starter set who says it’s just for kids!

So much to love about the recent Chipotle Cultivate Festival in Chicago.  Free to get in, dishes highlighting fresh, local, responsibly grown ingredients, celebrity chefs, great indie bands, and an entire experience dedicated to “learn(ing) about sustainable farming and get rewarded along the way”.

My friends at Loomstate designed their new uniforms and staffed a Loomstate for Chipotle booth at the festival selling exclusive Cultivate products as well as teaching attendees about sustainable production with a farm-to-finish area. Loving the common ground approach – whether the end product is food or clothing, it all starts in the earth. Chipotle proves yet again that being a main stream brand does not mean you have to sell out on your values – you can still get so much right about socially conscious thinking, branding and good business.

As if you needed another reason to love Pret a Manger – spotted at the Union Square NYC location:

Amongst all the large national and international consumer brands embracing the value of true socially conscious advertising, it still sometimes feels like the programs are being crafted from the outside in. Now, I’ve always been a believer in welcoming positive change no matter what the intent, but it is always encouraging to stumble across brands who have been living the mantra of socially conscious advertising from the inside out.

To them the value is as it should be – a full recognition of the fact that each business lives and operates in a community and that the health of that community will directly impact their health. This is not about charity, or “doing the right thing”, although those things are all very important. And it most certainly is not about garnering the attention of taste-makers, trendsetters or influencers. This is about sustaining the resources that feed their business – everything from customers to employees to the natural resources themselves being harvested. And the simpler the better.

Maine Coast Sea Vegetables has been doing this from day one. Founded in 1971, they now harvest around 100,000 pounds of sea vegetables from the North Atlantic that are dried and processed into 10,000 pounds of final product. Their products are sustainably harvested, certified organic and bring nutrients and joy to people around the globe. But their focus remains local; their commitment to the Maine community.

On the back of a Kelp Krunch bar – the simplest, most logical socially conscious campaign:

“Because we recognize that all like in the Gulf of Maine is interdependent and because we find joy in the company of kelp and whales, part of the proceeds from this bar are donated to ALLIED WHALE, one of America’s oldest whale research, conservation and educational institutions. In 1972 they were identifying their first whales not far from we were harvesting our first kelp! To get more information or to adopt a whale, write: Allied Wale, Dept. K, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 or call 207-288-5644.”

I love their Nori (imported from China) and their Kelp or Kombu is a great addition to soups or beans.

Their work was featured in an episode of America’s Heartland, a weekly public television series with, interestingly enough, major sponsors The Montsano Company and the American Farm Bureau Federation:

The moral? Keep it simple and true to the values your company believes in. Your customers will notice.