Chipotle’s ad wins at Cannes

The ad, which uses a cover by Willie Nelson of Coldplay’s song ‘The Scientist’, was voted the best TV campaign in the world at the Cannes Lions awards at the International Festival of Creativity.

The two-minute clip, which was played to the audience at last November's Peach 2020 conference,  follows a farmer as he progresses from smaller scale and more sustainable models to unpleasant factory-based animal rearing and slaughter and then back again. It has been acclaimed by sustainability groups in the US for starting a debate about farming practices—though it has also been criticized by some rival operators and others for taking the moral high ground.

The ad was an almost unanimous winner at the festival. Khai Meng Tham, chairman of the Cannes jury, said of the ad: “It was timeless with heart impact and gut impact. The best winners at Cannes always have a message, I think, and factory farming is such a big issue everywhere in the world. For a fast food company to do this will, we hope, change the industry, change the world.”

Chipotle added the flagship award to prizes in the branded content and entertainment and film categories. To see the full list of Cannes Lions winners, click here.

To watch Chipotle’s ad in full, along with clips about its making, click here.