DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) today debuts its original comedy series, “Farmed and Dangerous” on Hulu and Hulu Plus. The four-episode series marks Chipotle’s first foray into long-format, unbranded content. Produced in conjunction with Piro, a New York-based studio, the series stars Ray Wise (“24,” “Mad Men,” “Twin Peaks”) and Eric Pierpoint (“Parks and Recreation,” “Big Love”), and provides a satirical look at the lengths the agriculture industry goes to manage perceptions about its practices.
“Our goal in making the show was to engage people through entertainment and make them more curious about their food and where it comes from,” said Mark Crumpacker, chief marketing and development officer at Chipotle and an executive producer of the show. “It’s not a show about Chipotle, but rather integrates the values that are at the heart of our business. The more people know about how food is raised, the more likely they will be to choose food made from better ingredients — like the food we serve at Chipotle.”
Called a “smart comedy” by NBC News and “smart and wickedly funny” by Fortune, the first episode is available now for viewing on Hulu (free of charge) and Hulu Plus, with subsequent episodes to be made available Monday, February 24, March 3, and March 10.
“Every brand has their own unique story. Our job is to uncover it and then find the perfect vehicle in which to express it,” said Daniel Rosenberg, a partner at Piro and an executive producer of “Farmed and Dangerous.”
“Farmed and Dangerous” satirizes the lengths to which corporate agribusiness and its image-makers go to create a positive image of industrial agriculture. The first season focuses on the introduction of PetroPellet®, a new petroleum-based animal feed created by fictional industrial giant Animoil®. PetroPellet promises to reduce industrial agriculture’s dependence on oil by eliminating the need to grow, irrigate, fertilize and transport the vast amount of feed needed to raise livestock on factory farms. Before its new feed formula can forever reshape industrial agriculture, Animoil’s plans go awry when a revealing security video goes viral sending Animoil and their spin master, Buck Marshall (played by Wise) of the Industrial Food Image Bureau (IFIB), into damage control mode.
“Brands need to make a decision,” said Tim Piper, a partner at Piro and director of “Farmed and Dangerous.” “They can either continue to interrupt entertainment, or they can inspire it.”
The show’s original soundtrack, produced by Piro and DeeTown Entertainment, an American Music Award-winning collective of writers, producers, musicians, artists and engineers, whose credits included the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” franchise, “The Muppets,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Despicable Me 2,” and “Sex and the City,” is available for download on the Apple iTunes store, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation. The soundtrack features original music from DeeTown & Piro, including the title song “All About Me” by up-and-coming singer Rae.
Text to Win Trivia Game
“Farmed and Dangerous” viewers will have the chance to win food from Chipotle through an SMS trivia contest, which also starts today and continues through April 27. Each episode of “Farmed and Dangerous” will prompt viewers to enter the SMS contest with a unique keyword that viewers can text in to 30364 to start the trivia contest. Users will be promoted to answer three trivia questions related to that episode and they must answer all three correctly in order to be entered into a weekly drawing to win a buy-one-get-one reward from Chipotle (5,000 winners will be chosen each week). Whether players answer all three questions right or not, they will also be entered into a grand prize drawing to be held at the end of the promotion for a chance to win one of 100 “Catering for 20” prizes. Additional details along with rules and regulation can be found at: farmedanddangerous.com/#/trivia.
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 from using ingredients that are not only fresh, but that—where possible—are sustainably grown and Responsibly Raised™ with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food. In order to achieve this vision, we focus on building a special people culture that is centered on creating teams of top performers empowered to achieve high standards. This people culture not only leads to a better dining experience for our customers, it also allows us to develop future leaders from within. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and currently operates more than 1,550 restaurants including six ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants, and is an investor in an entity that owns and operates one Pizzeria Locale. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.
ABOUT PIRO
The principals behind Piro are the major award-winning team of Tim Piper (Cannes Lion Grand Prix) and Daniel Rosenberg (AFI Award) whose notable work in advertising, film and television make them uniquely qualified to help brands communicate their messaging through story and to unite advertising creatives and storytellers under one roof. Piro creates, develops and produces original and branded entertainment across all media platforms. For brands, Piro develops and produces strategic creative for television, films, web series, digital, commercials, music and events in-house. The studio also produces original entertainment for major film studios and television networks.
