Opinion
Chipotle Mexican Grill has launched a trailer for its four-part television series coming out in February. Branded as a satirical comedy, the series is an interesting (and extremely controversial) attempt at Hollywood-style advertising, boasting a scripted plot and professional directing.
The show is a negative campaign aimed at conventional farming practices and revolves around the petroleum-based, “PetroPellet,” produced by “Animoil” to help producers maximize profitability — that’s all they’re interested in, right?
The satire crosses the line, not in its ludicrous ideas (yeah, a cow explodes after eating the pellets at the start of the series), but in the way it presents itself online. Besides having a website devoted to the show, “Farmed and Dangerous,” there also happens to be a website copyrighted by “Animoil Global,” which defines “PetroPellets” as a “high-efficiency, low-cost livestock nutrition system from Animoil Global.”
Developing a satirical website that is only indirectly identified as such is a dangerous proposition, begging for reference and misunderstanding
“Derived from all-natural petroleum,” the website reads, “PetroPellet® products deliver the caloric requirements your livestock need at a price you will love. By ignoring unnecessary distractions like taste, texture, and effect on temperament, we have devoted every ounce of PetroPellet®products to delivering vital caloric energy to your valued meat-generating assets.”
Developing a satirical website that is only indirectly identified as such is a dangerous proposition, begging for reference and misunderstanding. Whether such consequences are the fault of an overconfident developer or an ignorant viewer is hardly worthy of debate. We’re all fools.
Related: Chipotle’s ‘The Scarecrow” proves farmers need to be advocates like never before
Still, there’s nothing like the hypocrisy of criticizing an industry for profit-motivated decisions by way of an advertising campaign. And at $250,000/episode (according to the New York Times), the move isn’t slight, as Chipotle continues its mudslinging quest for attention.
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