Chipotle Mexican Grill is suing Frank Ocean after the R&B star backed out of making a commercial for them for a peculiar reason.
Singers and other celebrities have turned down advertising deals for a number of reasons. Maybe they didn’t agree with the commercial’s message, didn’t appreciate the quality of the final product, or weren’t fans of the product being sold.
In this case, Ocean was furious that Chipotle included its own logo at the end of the commercial spot.
The Mexican grill restaurant chain hired Ocean to sing a new rendition of “Pure Imagination,” which was originally featured in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
After seeing the rough cut of the ad, Ocean signed on to do the commercial.
The rough cut did not include the company’s logo at the end but the final version, which Ocean was shown the day before he was supposed to record the track, did have the logo.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ocean asked for the logo to be removed from the spot but the company was adamant about keeping the logo in.
The logo doesn’t make an appearance anywhere else in the commercial and there is nothing within the commercial that would let viewers know the commercial is for Chipotle.
In other words, the logo at the end seems to be a very vital part of the ad.
Either way, Ocean’s legal team says that the singer had the right to demand that the logo be removed because he was told the ad was about promoting responsible farming — not necessarily promoting Chipotle.
“When Frank was asked to participate in this project, Chipotle’s representatives told him that the thrust of the campaign was to promote responsible farming,” his legal team said in a public statement. “There was no reference or logo in the initial presentation, and Chipotle told Frank that was an intentional element of the campaign. Frank was also promised that he’d have the right to approve the master and all the advertising.”
Chipotle insists that those weren’t the actual terms of the agreement and now they want the $212,500 they paid in advance back from Ocean.
Meanwhile, Fiona Apple replaced Ocean in the animated commercial.
You can view the completed Chipotle commercial below:
