2014 marks the tenth anniversary of the phrase "Madison and Vine" being coined in the USA. Of course, this references the classic advertising of Madison Avenue and the famous intersection at Hollywood and Vine.

The market has developed greatly in ten years, from crude integrations (Doritos and Sprite for the obstacle course winner on Survivor) to inspired blockbuster franchises based on toy brands (Transformers).

The USA remains relatively unrestricted with regard to brand integrations (paid brand and product placement in movies, TV shows, song lyrics), although there is some resistance from TV and film writers and producers being forced to work brands into their storylines (e.g. every character on The Walking Dead would probably not drive a Hyundai).

The best "branded entertainment" work in the USA (The Beauty Inside), as with other countries like Australia (Dumb Ways To Die), seems to transcend the notion of being "branded" and simply entertains while simultaneously promoting brand values. Good news for the next ten years of Madison and Vine.

Chipotle is known for its burritos, but few know that Chipotle has radically changed the fast food industry. Believing that the more people know about Chipotle, the more they will become passionate and loyal customers, Chipotle wanted to tell this story.

The result was a content-driven marketing platform, “Cultivate a Better World", designed to emotionally engage customers in Chipotle's journey to create a sustainable future. As a continuation of the Cultivate platform, “The Scarecrow” was created to create a conversation about the state of processed food and its effect on our world.

“The Scarecrow,” is a gaming franchise (an animated short, mobile game, and song) that depicts a scarecrow’s journey to bring wholesome food back to the people.

The game’s opening cinematic, directed by the Academy Award-winning Moonboot Studios, is set in a dystopian world where food production is controlled by fictional industrial giant Crow Foods. The short was distributed on YouTube, in-game, and alongside the theatrical release of the documentary “GMO OMG.”

Additionally, the film is set to a remake of the song “Pure Imagination” from the 1971 film classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” performed by Grammy Award-winning artist, Fiona Apple and is available on iTunes for charity.

The mobile game continues the film’s story. Players help The Scarecrow correct the wrongs committed by Crow Foods. Designed for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, the game allows players to fly through the City of Plenty to transport confined animals to open pastures, fill fields with diverse crops at Scarecrow Farms, and serve wholesome food to the citizens at Plentyfull Plaza, all while avoiding menacing Crowbots.

The Scarecrow is available for free from the iOS App Store. Players of the game were awarded with Chipotle food in the form of a mobile coupon delivered immediately to their devices.

The Scarecrow was to designed start a conversation about food in culture. Audiences were drawn to the game through a robust earned media strategy coordinated with targeted distribution, including:

· Apple App Store Editorial: Featured at launch

· YouTube: The game’s opening cinematic drove downloads

· Earned Media: Array of strategies based on various elements of the campaign (cause, music, gaming, food, tech, etc.).

· Cinema: Opening cinematic of documentary GMO OMG promoted downloads

· iTunes: Fiona Apple’s “Pure Imagination” created awareness for the game

· Digital Paid Media: Digital campaign, including targeted search, paid YouTube views, and embedded in in-game mobile ads various across iOS properties.

The Scarecrow franchise has created a conversation about food in popular culture generating over 614 million PR impressions to date. ?

In its first month, The Scarecrow franchise sparked 18.4 million conversations across 17 social platforms with a 92.7 social sentiment score and, for the first time, made Chipotle the top social brand, replacing Taco Bell, on the Restaurant Social Media Index Top 250 list.

Since it’s launch, the film has been viewed over 12.5 million times on YouTube. The game has been downloaded by over 650,000, playing an average session length of 5 minutes.

The song debuted #32 on the Billboard Streaming Songs chart and has been purchased over 13,000 times on iTunes.