SpringHill’s Ricardo Viramontes on the deeply personal roots of Chipotle’s ‘Back to the Start’

Ad Age is marking Hispanic Heritage Month 2024 with our Honoring Creative Excellence package, in which members of the Hispanic community revisit pivotal projects or turning points in their careers. (Read the introduction and all the essays here.) Today, guest editor Will Esparza turns the spotlight to Ricardo Viramontes, chief creative officer of The SpringHill Company, who writes about Chipotle’s 2011 masterpiece ad “Back to the Start,” which he art directed. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here Where you are from can influence your work in subtle and profound ways. Your background, culture and experiences shape your perspective, and as a creative, this personal lens becomes your most powerful tool. These details find their way into the stories you tell, the choices you make, and the art you produce. Growing up in Deming, New Mexico—known as the chile capital of the world—I reluctantly spent a summer working on my cousin’s farm in the foothills of the mountains. My mornings began at 6 a.m., cleaning tractors and picking weeds in the blistering heat. By noon, I was driving home, eager to escape the desert sun and head to the gym for some indoor hoops. I left the idea of the family business behind—until more than 15 years later when a project with a big burrito company at CAA changed the trajectory of my career. Chipotle’s challenge was clear: They wanted to change fast-food culture. At the time, food was becoming a national conversation, with people caring more about where it came from and how it was grown. Our task was to tell the story of factory farming without demonizing farmers, exposing the realities of industrial farming while still maintaining appetite appeal. For many, large-scale farming was essential for survival, and we needed to respect that while promoting a shift toward sustainable practices. The film’s concept had to be grounded: What if “Old MacDonald,” one of the last connections many Americans have to farming, had lost his way? And what if he could find it again? We aimed to connect emotionally by drawing on nostalgia and telling a story of redemption. The best creative work respects the client’s vision, acknowledges cultural relevance but embraces your unique perspective. This project took me back to those early days. “Back to the Start” was influenced by memories of farming, but also my mom’s kindergarten class—the tactile nature of wooden toys and the innocence of simple instructional songs. I also recalled mornings filled with the scent of Aqua Net and highway country music pouring out of an old Sony radio as she got ready. Willie Nelson’s cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” wasn’t just a song in an ad—it was a call to action. The film sparked a conversation about the future of farming and earned multiple awards, including two Cannes Grand Prix Lions. It set the stage for Chipotle’s broader mission, and the “Cultivate A Better World” campaign expanded to include festivals, digital initiatives and more films that championed “food with integrity.” Creativity’s power lies in transforming something deeply personal into something universal. The farm in Deming may seem like a small part of my past, but it taught me about hard work, resilience and the impact of technology on tradition—lessons that resonate far beyond geography, turning personal experiences into universal truths. This is the art in commerce: blending a brand’s message with something deeply human and real, something only you, as the creator, can express.

SpringHill’s Ricardo Viramontes on the deeply personal roots of Chipotle’s ‘Back to the Start’

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