Chipotle Returns The Love, Will Pay $10,000 For Best User-Generated Ad

Chipotle, that wonderful purveor of ginormous, super delicious burritos, announced recently that it'll 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.  The Mexican grill chain launched the user-generated campaign in May, without the lure of a ten grand prize. 

“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.”

I'm always on the prowl for a better way to explain what ConsumerPassion is all about, and Crumpacker hit my nail on the head when he said their intention was to "harness the power of our most loyal fans and to empower them as messengers for Chipotle".  Amen.  There's no better way to ignite your marketing than to empower your customers by super serving them and exceeding their expectations.

From the press release:  

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.