Chipotle Offers Prizes for Best Ad Submissions

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) (NYSE:CMG.B), the national chain of burrito restaurants known for serving Food With Integrity, announced that it will pay one winner $10,000 for their ad submission and may put the winner’s favorite food combination on its menu as part of its "My Chipotle” advertising campaign. Chipotle launched the user-generated campaign in May to better demonstrate the variety within its menu.

Chipotle’s menu offerings, made with the best-tasting sustainably raised, premium quality ingredients, including naturally raised meat, rBGH-free dairy, and local and organic produce, allow customers to create more than 60,000 delicious burrito, taco, bowl and salad combinations. Because customers choose exactly what goes into their individual order, they can tailor what they eat to meet any taste or dietary preferences, making Chipotle appeal to a broad customer base.

"When we launched the My Chipotle campaign, our intention was to harness the power of our most loyal fans and to empower them as messengers for Chipotle,” said Mark Crumpacker, chief marketing officer of Chipotle. "While we have received hundreds of submissions and registered thousands of users at the My Chipotle website, we wanted our customers to know how much we appreciate their contributions to the campaign by giving them an opportunity to be rewarded for their best submissions.”

Winners will be determined by a panel of Chipotle marketing staff and the company’s advertising agency based on how well they discuss Chipotle menu items while remaining consistent with the company’s values and image. Chipotle will announce winners August 26.

The first prize winner will receive $10,000 and may have their burrito added to the Chipotle menu for a limited time. Second prize is $5,000 and a party at a local Chipotle restaurant for 50 people, and third prize will be burritos for a year (amounting to one burrito a week for a year). Additional prizes will also be awarded. To be eligible for the contest, entries must be submitted via mychipotle.com by August 14. Any spots submitted to mychipotle.com could be used in the company’s ongoing advertising.

The My Chipotle campaign is based on extensive research surrounding customer preferences which found that many customers were ordering the same thing every time they visited Chipotle, and that many people perceived little variety on Chipotle’s menu in spite of the 60,000 possible combinations. The campaign was developed by Butler Shine Stern and Partners, Sausalito, Calif., and includes online, print, and in out-of-home (billboards, bus shelters and taxi tops) components. Through a dedicated website, mychipotle.com, consumers can send content to Chipotle and view selected content submitted by other users.

About Chipotle

Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food with Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food not only from using fresh ingredients, but ingredients that are sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food. Chipotle opened its first restaurant in 1993 and currently operates more than 860 restaurants. For more information, visit chipotle.com.