A farmer builds his family farm into an industrial animal factory, and then sees the error of his ways and chooses a more sustainable future. That is the story of “Back to the Start,” a two-minute stop-motion film released by Chipotle in 2011.
It was directed by the London-based director Johnny Kelly, with animation by Nexus Studios. The soundtrack is Willie Nelson’s cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist,” which Chipotle commissioned. According to reports at the time, the song was sold on iTunes for 99 cents, and 60 cents of each sale went to Chipotle’s foundation.
It was not run as an ordinary TV commercial. From September 2011, it appeared before feature films on nearly 5,700 movie screens across the United States. According to one account, it won a Film Grand Prix and a Branded Content Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, along with many other awards.
It says what the brand cares about instead of what it sells, and it is often used to show how a company can make a mission the center of its advertising.
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