Article: Chipotle's "Back To The Start" Sets Precedent....

Chipotle's "Back To The Start" Sets Precedent As Big Winner At ADC Awards

NEW YORK, April 10, 2012, --- For the first time in the 91-year history of the Art Directors Club's Annual Awards, the top ADC Gold Cube winner was not a traditional advertising or design agency. Instead the major honoree was talent/packaging agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Los Angeles, on the strength of its short film/spot "Back to the Start" directed by Johnny Kelly of Nexus, London, for the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation.

The ADC announced global winners this week, with the formal awards ceremony scheduled for May 8 in New York. "Back to the Start" won four ADC Gold Cubes and two Silver Cubes in Advertising, Interactive and Motion. The stop motion animation short also garnered Gold in sound design for Duotone Audio Group, New York.

The short is propelled by Willie Nelson's cover of Coldplay's "The Scientist," with David Leinheardt of Duotone Audio Group handling music supervision. Barnaby Templer and J.M. Finch of Fonic, London, served as sound designer and audio post mixer, respectively.

"Back To The Start" centers on a misguided farmer who slowly turns his family farm into an industrial animal factory before seeing the error of his ways and opting for a more sustainable future. The beautifully executed animation is all contained in one long panning "shot" and has no voiceover, leaving the music to tell the story.

And for that, CAA turned to Duotone which came up with a tailored edit of Coldplay's "The Scientist" that not only matched the mood of the film but also scored to picture naturally and powerfully. Sync licensing was handled by Duotone EP Leinheardt.

Nelson was an ideal choice to perform the song. He co-founded Farm Aid, which assists and increases awareness of family farms. His full-length cover is available for download from iTunes, with proceeds going to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, a Chipotle restaurants initiative which benefits the small and sustainable farms movement.

Meanwhile, another big ADC winner was BETC Euro RSCG, Paris, which won three Golds and a Silver in Advertising for the humorous CANAL+ spot "The Bear" featuring a bear as a leading cinema director. The actual director behind "The Bear" was Matthijs van Heijningen via Soixante Quinze, Paris. VFX house was Mikros Image.

A full rundown of ADC Gold, Silver, Bronze Cube and Merit winners can be found here.

This year's winners represented 24 countries. At the awards gala next month, the club will announce the winner of its second-annual ADC Designism Award honoring work for a nonprofit that drives social or political change. In addition, recipients of this year's Agency of the Year, Network of the Year, Design Team of the Year and School of the Year honors, based upon a cumulative points system, will be revealed.

The awards will be celebrated at the ADC 91st Annual Awards Gala on May 8 at Espace in New York. An exhibition of winning work will run May 9-24 at the ADC Gallery in New York.

Here's a rundown of ADC Gold Cube winners in all categories:

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