The news: Chipotle collaborated with the London Vegetable Orchestra on an original song performed using instruments made entirely from fresh vegetables, including flutes made from corn, trumpets built using jalapeño, and a horn created from peppers and an avocado pit. The track, first teased in its 100 Creators campaign, will become a signature sound across select Chipotle marketing efforts.

The song is the latest example of brands moving from using entertainment in their marketing to creating entertainment themselves. Other examples include:

• E.l.f. Cosmetics last month launched “Mirror Mix,” its second original music compilation album, released through e.l.f. Made, the entertainment arm it launched in 2024.
• Gap recently announced the first collaboration under its recently formed Fashiontainment platform: a multiyear partnership with dance-forward boy band Just Your Type (JYT) that includes a co-produced docuseries, national mall tour, Gap capsule collection, and social content.
• Wendy’s also recently dropped an album, “Songs to Listen to in a Wendy’s Parking Lot.” However, unlike the other brands’ efforts, the fast food chain’s campaign takes the form of a tongue-in-cheek emo album featuring songs with titles like “She Said She Didn’t Want Fries” and “The Best Combo Meal on the Worst Night of My Life.”

Why is this happening? It’s harder than ever for brands to cut through the noise and build awareness.

Creating entertainment gives them an opportunity to earn attention rather than buy it, with content consumers may seek out, talk about, and share. That word of mouth matters because 28.5% of consumers discover new brands or products through friends or word of mouth, per our July survey featured in our recently released Path to Purchase 2026 report.

That’s pushing brands to treat entertainment as something they can create and own rather than simply sponsor or advertise against. Whether it’s an offbeat song played on corn flutes, an emo tune about fries, or tracks featuring up-and-coming artists, content that resonates on its own merits can generate word of mouth, build cultural relevance, and extend engagement beyond a traditional campaign.

Recommendations for marketers: Making entertainment work as marketing is easier said than done. The content has to clear two big hurdles:

1. It needs to be compelling enough that consumers voluntarily watch, listen to, or share it.
2. It needs to be distinctive enough that consumers connect it back to the brand.

That starts with creating content that can stand on its own. A song or series that feels like an ad gives consumers little reason to seek it out. But being entertaining isn’t enough. The content also needs a clear connection to the brand or its products. Otherwise, marketers risk generating attention without strengthening the brand.

E.l.f.’s approach shows how those pieces can work together. The brand's first major venture into music, the 2019 song “eyes.lips.face.,” was designed to entertain while building awareness around the e.l.f. brand. “People didn’t know what eyes, lips, face—what e.l.f.—stood for, and we created the song to embrace … what it means for us as a brand,” chief integrated marketing officer Patrick O’Keefe told CNBC.

While Chipotle, Wendy’s, and Gap are taking very different approaches, they share a similar goal: Create entertainment consumers want to engage with while making sure the brand behind that content is clear.

Go further: Read our Path to Purchase 2026 report.