DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced the latest installment of its popular “Cultivating Thought” author series, and with it a new online sweepstakes called the Super Short Book Report. The sweepstakes, presented with Amazon Kindle, invites participants to submit a 103-character book report, based on one of the new “Cultivating Thought” stories, for the chance to win prizes including one of 500 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-readers.
The Super Short Book Report challenges customers to not only read the newly published short stories on Chipotle’s cups and bags, but to summarize one story of their choosing. Starting today, participants can submit their “book report” for a chance to be one of 50 daily winners, randomly selected to receive an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. The winners will be contacted on the day immediately following their date of entry. The sweepstakes will run until September 23, and participants will be limited to one entry per day. Entries can be submitted by visiting www.CultivatingThought.com/SuperShort.
“Our mission has always been to change how people think about and eat fast food, and in addition to highlighting our fresh ingredients, we seek to encourage curiosity in our customers about the world around them,” said Mark Crumpacker, chief creative and development officer. “Cultivating Thought has succeeded as an extension of that idea, by not only inspiring new ways of thinking, but by also extending the customer experience in our restaurants.”
Now in its third installment, “Cultivating Thought” was first launched in May 2014 in partnership with New York Times best-selling author and series curator Jonathan Safran Foer. The series offers Chipotle’s nearly one million daily customers an unexpected source of entertainment while exposing them to the thought provoking writing of world-renowned, bestselling authors. The Super Short Book Report is Amazon Kindle’s first-ever partnership of its kind with a national restaurant company.
“Our mission at Amazon is to make reading more accessible to consumers, whether that means reading a few pages on your Kindle during your evening commute or taking a quick break to read during your lunch hour,” said Neil Lindsay, vice president Kindle marketing. “We love finding new ways for readers to lose themselves in a story, which is why we’re excited to partner with Chipotle on this innovative campaign, designed to help encourage reading.”
The newest slate of contributors includes 11 notable authors who have been widely recognized in popular culture not only for their bestselling novels, but also for how their works have transcended the page into screenplays for film and/or television. Among the new list of authors is a Pulitzer Prize winner, a Newbery Medal winner, two National Book Award winners, and five authors who have had their writing adapted into widely recognized and award-nominated films and television shows. In addition to the sweepstakes offering, the full list of “Cultivating Thought” authors, and their written works, will be available on the Amazon Kindle homepage by visiting amazon.com/cultivatingthought.
The full list of new “Cultivating Thought” contributors includes:
- M.T. Anderson (Feed, Thirsty)
- Anthony Doerr (All the Light We Cannot See)
- Stephen J. Dubner (Freakonomics, SuperFreakonomics)
- Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate)
- Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections, Freedom, Purity)
- Laura Hillenbrand (Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Seabiscuit: An American Legend)
- Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees)
- Lois Lowry (Number the Stars, The Giver)
- Tom Perrotta (Election, Little Children, The Leftovers)
- Mary Roach (Packing for Mars, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers)
- Colson Whitehead (The Intuitionist, John Henry Days)
As a series, “Cultivating Thought” has acted as an extension of Chipotle’s progressive approach to food and culture by offering meaningful, thought-provoking, and accessible content. With the series, Chipotle challenges the conventions of the fast food industry by using its packaging as an opportunity to engage customers with original stories. The first two installments of “Cultivating Thought” have included original works from acclaimed authors such as Toni Morrison, Malcolm Gladwell, Amy Tan, Augusten Burroughs, and Neil Gaiman.
The new “Cultivating Thought” packaging is available in Chipotle restaurants now, and customers can also view these stories by visiting chipotle.com/cultivatingthought.
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 raised responsibly 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 operates more than 1,850 restaurants, including 17 Chipotle restaurants outside the U.S. and 11 ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants, and is an investor in an entity that owns and operates three Pizzeria Locale restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.
