A profound commercial message

While the Super Bowl gets all of the attention for commercials, this Chipotle-sponsored message that aired during the Grammy's last night absolutely blew me away in terms of substance and creativity. Willie Nelson, a long-time opponent of factory farming, performed the soundtrack, a song called "The Scientist" by Coldplay. Nelson's stripped-down version and creaky vocals were a perfect match for the animated video.

The short film is titled "Back to the Start," and taps into feelings that have been growing inside of some, albeit not enough, people in recent years. We have lost our way during our quest for more of everything -- faster and cheaper food, slicker technologies and greater profits. Whether it is factory farming producing cheap, poor-quality food here and overseas, or hundreds of thousands of Chinese assembling our iPads under horrible working conditions, we have paid an enormous price for so-called modernization. Most people choose to close their eyes to this stuff, which is why the Willie Nelson commercial was so important. It broadens the spectrum of awareness. Forces us in an inspirational way to ponder something most of us rarely ever think about.

I fear we are at the point of no return when it comes to all kinds of technologies and modern methods of doing things. In some ways, technology and other advancements have improved our lives. But who wouldn't go back to a time when a tomato actually tasted like a tomato? Who hasn't felt the urge to rip the cellphone out of some obnoxious person's hand while in line at the coffee shop? Who wouldn't support doctors returning to the days when they made house calls instead of patients having to be herded through some HMO facility's sterile environment?

Many things that exist today in the name of progress have done nothing but make us more vulnerable to illness and have reduced our ability to relate to each other. Making comments on Facebook is not relating to each other. Holding a door for a stranger or making small talk with the person in front of you on line are much better for the soul than tweeting a moronic comment about stubbing your toe while cutting someone off in the adjacent lane. Learning an instrument is better than relying on a computer to hit all the right notes for you. It is more human. In its imperfection, it is perfect and far more enriching. A song, like a tomato, doesn't have to be artificially void of flaws in order for it to do what it was intended to do in the best possible manner.

The Grammy's were kind of interesting last night. I was glad to hear the Foo Fighters actually recorded their last album in their garage with a tape recorder -- not a professional studio with all the digital wonders that often make musicians sound better than they are. I was glad Adele, with her no-nonsense approach to music, was a big winner. And I was glad to see the Chipotle/Willie Nelson short film.

I am just not sure that we can ever go back to the start. That saddens and alarms me just a little more with each passing day. But maybe, through messaging like the Back to the Start film, we can rethink some of the things we currently accept as progressive and expose them for what they really are -- just another way for another company to turn a buck, even if it's not the right thing to do for people, animals, our culture or the planet as a whole. Before you bite into that next McDonald's burger or turn on that iPhone, maybe it would be good to know what went into bringing those things to market.

Click here for information about Willie Nelson and Neil Young's efforts with Farm Aid.