• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, January 5, 2017

El Pollo Loco is spotlighting its East L.A. roots and fire-grilled cooking techniques in the restaurant brand’s first work from its new creative agency of record, Vitro.

The “Road to Authenticity” campaign spans television, digital, social and out-of-home advertising.

The creative captures El Pollo’s origins in “the vibrant Latino heart of L.A., where fire-grilled chicken is a culinary and cultural art form,” said the company’s CMO, Ed Valle. 

The brand prides itself on its “QSR plus” appeal, meaning that it’s a quick-serve format that offers food of such high quality that it draws customers from the fast-casual segment, as well.

The campaign’s 15- and 30-second videos/TV spots (see below) were shot by David Gelb, known as the director of the 2011 documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” and the Netflix documentary series “Chef’s Table.”

The out-of-home creative includes a new mural, commissioned from artist Jorge Gutierrez, on the side of one of the chain’s L.A. locations.
The 30-year-old El Pollo Loco chain has more than 450 company- and franchisee-owned locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Utah.