Hear Fiona Apple’s Haunting Cover Of ‘Willy Wonka’ Classic “Pure Imagination” For Chipotle Ad

Carl Williott | September 13, 2013 12:37 pm

Fiona Apple covered “Pure Imagination” from the film Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (yep) for a Chipotle ad campaign (yep) criticizing factory farming. It’s not so random, actually: Apple is vegan and a noted animal lover (she once canceled concerts to be with her dying dog), plus you may remember when Willie Nelson covered Coldplay for an equally gloomy Chipotle ad a couple years ago.

The video features a scarecrow witnessing the horrors of factory farming and animals undergoing hormone therapy, and in the end he starts his own business selling sustainable vegetarian food. The hopeful yet off-kilter track from the 1971 film gets an especially melancholy treatment to fit the despairing visuals, and Apple’s weary, quivering vocals are a perfect vehicle for the message.

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