Chipotle went straight for the green audience on a popular social video app, TikTok, with its #GuacDance challenge, resulting in record-breaking video submissions and sales. The marketing initiative was built around National Avocado Day and encouraged guac lovers to show off their dance skills to Dr. Jean’s viral “Guacamole Song.”
The campaign served both parties well, resulting in a record-setting day for Chipotle, with 800,000 plus sides of guacamole served. In addition, it was TikTok’s highest-performing branded challenge in the U.S. YouTube influencers Brent Rivera and Loren Gray helped to promote the challenge on TikTok and #GuacDance received 250,00 video submissions and 430 million video starts in a six-day run.
According to Chipotle, to meet the demand of the avocado celebration, the company had to use an additional 7,500 cases, approximately 187,500 pounds, of avocados. 420,000 pounds of avocados were “mashed” at Chipotle just on National Avocado Day alone on July 31.
Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer of Chipotle, said in a press release, “We were blown away by the passion people have for our guac and the enthusiasm for National Avocado Day. The overwhelmingly positive responses, as seen in both our digital orders and the 430 million #GuacDance TikTok videos, confirm our fans’ real appreciation for Chipotle’s handmade guac.”
#GuacDance is Chipotle’s second challenge on TikTok. In May, the company went down in history as the first restaurant brand to partner with TikTok for a hashtag challenge in the U.S. with its #ChipotleLidFlip. Per CNBC, #ChipotleLidFlip saw 110,000 user-generated video submissions and 104 million video starts in its first six days.
TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to expose users to fun, engaging content and offers convenient in-app sharing tools, which is making it a new addition to the list of must-try platforms for marketing efforts.
