- Chipotle Mexican Grill today (Feb. 26) premiered a 60-second spot concerning the chain’s sustainability efforts on Roblox, becoming the primary restaurant brand to debut a national TV ad within the metaverse, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- Created by Venables Bell & Partners, “Unfolded” features an animated world and is ready to a soundtrack of Halsey’s rendition of “She’s a Rainbow,” originally by The Rolling Stones. Up to the primary 50,000 users to watch the ad contained in the brand’s immersive Roblox experience will receive a free entrée code.
- The “Unfolded” effort, together with being a part of Chipotle’s purpose-driven efforts around sustainable agriculture, demonstrates how the first-mover continues to experiment with the metaverse to link gaming, content and real-world rewards.
Chipotle is bringing together several marketing tactics and methods in its latest campaign around sustainability. The 60-second “Unfolded” spot dives into certainly one of the fast casual’s takeout bags to reveal an animated world seemingly fabricated from folded paper. A truck drives through the landscape, transforming cardboard-colored industrial farming into colourful, sustainable agriculture before ending at a Chipotle location. A tagline reads, “Cultivate a greater world.”
“Unfolded” debuted today in Roblox within the virtual Carnitas Cinema inside the pre-existing Chipotle Burrito Builder experience. A gaming side quest rewards users with a ticket to view the video, with up to 50,000 users who view it eligible to receive a code for a free entrée.
The effort demonstrates how Chipotle continues to experiment with gaming platform Roblox, at the same time as the broader marketing world has shifted focus from the metaverse to tools like generative artificial intelligence. After debuting on the platform in 2021, the chain in 2022 launched Burrito Builder, a simulation that permit users roll virtual burritos to earn in-experience currency that might be exchanged for real-world rewards — an experiment in connecting virtual channels with IRL ones.
Along with the brand new ad and metaverse play, the campaign continues the brand’s long-running purpose-driven efforts around sustainable agriculture. Chipotle will make a $2 million donation to 4 universities (The Ohio State University, Cal State Monterey Bay, Colorado State University and the University of Florida) as a part of a $5 million commitment to support young farmers made by the chain in 2021. Through March 31, customers can round up their orders to support the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation.
“As a brand dedicated to agriculture that is nice for each people and the planet, Chipotle is all the time exploring opportunities to advance the industry and support farmers,” Chief Brand Officer Chris Brandt said in a press release. “These impactful projects, headed by among the brightest minds in ag innovation, create optimism for widespread adoption of sustainable agriculture and the long run of real food.”
The focus on offering financial aid comes at a time when farmers are facing challenges because the USDA, under the Trump administration, recently froze some funding.
Chipotle posted comparable sales growth of 5.4% through the fourth quarter and seven.4% during 2024, per its most up-to-date earnings report, with executives citing the strength of its marketing as a driver of growth on an earnings call.
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