Chipotle Mexican Grill has done it. So have Good Times Burgers, Quiznos and Oreo.

Those food companies and others have asked customers to create video tributes to what they're eating, turning the best submissions into ads. The homemade videos end up online, the word of mouth spreads, and suddenly thousands of people around the world get a glimpse of just how some guy likes to eat his Domino's pizza.

Restaurant chains and food companies aren't the only ones asking customers for heartfelt submissions — even the Denver Public Library is in on the act.

But there seem to be more of these contests for food, and the results are often plastered on YouTube. A search for "Doritos" ahead of the company's Super Bowl ad competition turns up hundreds of matches. (See the finalists at http://promotions.yahoo.com/doritos/ .)

These homegrown ads can be a big opportunity for budding filmmakers — and a chance for the companies to form a community around their brand.

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Glenn Morey is president of Morey Evans Advertising, which helped create a campaign where Good Times Burgers asked customers to send in videos of themselves with cardboard cutouts of Mr. All-Natural Beef Man, a made up character dreamed up just for a Good Times contest.

The point was to attract "Millennials," ages 16 to 24, who tend to appreciate burgers made of all natural beef, Morey says. That same group happens to be drawn to ads that ask them to participate. So voila, Mr. All-Natural Beef Man and the request for videos was born.

"Research shows that younger consumers, meaning 16 to really 34, want to participate or respond most to marketing that asks for their participation. And so, as opposed to traditional marketing that just preached at you, the most effective marketing today truly engages the consumer in entertaining, fun, and mostly participatory ways," Morey says.

"Quick service restaurants are typically targeting younger people. They make up a significant portion of the heavy fast food users," he says.

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Why are so many people willing to spend hours putting in free work? It may come down to the personal connection with food — somehow it's easier to feel devoted to a burrito than to your sneakers.

"Whatever food you grew up with, you'll have a cultural connection," says Bill Guilfoyle, an associate professor in business management at the Culinary Institute of America. "For me, white kid growing up with peanut butter and jelly and chocolate milk ... there's nothing more comforting to this day than peanut butter and jelly and chocolate milk."

Combine people's personal connections with food and younger, hipper consumers' affinity for interactive ads that speak to them and you have a strong marketing campaign for fast-food eaters.

"All companies, not just food companies, are trying to create not just customers but fans — people who are just rabid about the product," Guilfoyle says. "The customer then becomes the PR person, the word of mouth to the rest of the customers."

The customers creating the videos get this. They know that, in a sense, they're serving as cheap labor.

"They want to advertise to college students," says Allie Edwards, 20, part of a team that came up with a winning Chipotle ad. "The best way is to get college students to do it. Then they know exactly what college students like and what's in right now."

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Find it online:

Edwards' winning ad for Chipotle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v_WEAnSTJ7gQ

Oreo asked fans to come up with a jingle for the classic cookie: http://www.nabiscoworld.com/oreo/jingle/

Hershey's asks bakers to send in baking tips: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/baking-hints-tips

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