I recently read my friend Angelli Dimatulac’s blog post about an ad created by Chipotle Mexican Grill. I agree with her that the ad lost me at points, but primarily because of its complexity rather than its content.

At times, I found the ad veered away from its central purpose, which was to promote Chipotle’s commitment to natural foods. The inclusion of the scarecrow, although endearing and fun, make the message more complex than it should be and at times I wasn’t even sure what the ad was for. The customer segment that this ad is targeted for are fast food consumers who are tired of heavily processed foods that are normally associated with companies like McDonald’s and Taco Bell. This ad serves to introduce Chipotle’s value proposition of providing a more natural alternative to traditional fast food and is indicative of their strategy for differentiation. However, the length and complexity of the the ad serve as more of a distraction in the minds of the audience.

An alternative strategy in marketing that I argue is more effective is Minute Maid’s Simply Orange ad. These ads are similarly targeted at a customer segment looking for healthy, natural foods for which they know the ingredients. Minute Maid does this by emphasizing that their Simply Orange juice has nothing else but oranges, reassuring customers through a very simple ad that the product contains no modifications. This strategy of advertising a value proposition is, I argue, a more effective way of differentiating the product in the mind of the customer and keeping them focused on why they should purchase it.

Here’s the Simply Orange ad: