Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is now facing another controversy after a lawsuit was filed on Tuesday from Colleen Gallagher of California, contesting the fast food chain's menu to be free of GMO. Thursday morning, a controversial ad campaign hits the press in full page advertisement in New York Post. And the advertisement is anything but nice to the fast food chain as reported in Washington Post.
The full-page advertisement shows a smiling, shirtless, overweight young man which seems to be mocking the words written above his head, "'Chipotle' Healthy". The ad further says, "Eat two 'all natural' Chipotle burritos a week and you could gain 40 pounds in a year." A website is written so as to urge consumers to check more false claims by the fast food chain. These words are also found below the picture:
"Chipotle makes high-calorie burritos and tacos, but spends most of its marketing dollars stressing how "sustainable" it is, or how its foods are antibiotic-free (until it sells meat that isn't). All these claims sound good, but experts say they don't make their food healthier. Experts do agree that eating 1,300-1,500 calorie burritos will probably make you fat. Find out more at chubbychipotle.com."
The website leads to a single page website that talks about the fast food's slogan "Food with Integrity". It was then altered to "Food with hypocrisy". It further destroys Chipotle's claims to be healthy. The campaign is funded by the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) which is only apparent once you scroll to the very bottom of the Web page. The CCF was founded by powerful lobbyist Rick Berman. He initially fought against restaurants and eateries who banned smoking. It was said to be supported by other restaurants, foundations and individuals. In this Chipotle advertisement, they declined the company or individual that funded the latest campaign.
However, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold is unperturbed with the turn out of events. "What they're saying, what they're accusing us of, it's nothing new. They're just rehashing things others have been making up about us for years."
"There's nothing false at all about our advertising or marketing," he added. "But there are legitimate ways to challenge these sorts of things. Launching a smear campaign isn't one of them. It's actually just pretty infantile."
Chipotle has earned both praise and scepticism in its move to source the most ethical ingredients as possible. This advertisement is the latest blow against the fast food chain.
