The raciest Super Bowl ads usually involve bikini-clad women beckoning football fans to buy a beer. But this year’s ad from Groupon, the US-based company that arranges group discounts at local merchants, broke new ground by stirring up political tensions around Tibetan independence to sell coupons to a restaurant.
The ad managed to offend advocates on both sides of the issue and could ultimately hurt Groupon’s expansion prospects in China.
The Groupon ad begins with actor Timothy Hutton speaking over shots of young girls dancing in Tibet: “The people of Tibet are in trouble, their very culture in jeopardy.” Then the camera cuts to Hutton sitting in a restaurant in Chicago: “But they still whip up an amazing fish curry,” he says, “And since 200 of us bought a Groupon.com, we’re each getting $30 worth of Tibetan food for just $15 at Himalayan restaurant in Chicago.”
The ad fell flat with viewers and bloggers, some of whom vowed to cancel their Groupon accounts on the spot. Others called into question the feasibility of Groupon’s purported interest in expanding into the Chinese market.
“Groupon decided to do a funny commercial about Tibet because Darfur would be in bad taste?” wrote blogger Hei Wei on sina.com.
“Goupon is gonna pay for it,” wrote another blogger, toyeduck.
Groupon has been backpedaling since the ad aired, saying the company always meant to start a conversation with the ad, but not such a negative one. In addition to increasing the profile of the company, Groupon also meant to help raise money for The Tibet Fund, a nonprofit group that supports health care, education, and cultural preservation programs for Tibetan refugees. But this wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the ad.
“We thought people would go to Groupon.com and put two and two together,” said Julie Mossler, a Groupon spokesperson. “What we could have done better is direct them to SaveTheMoney.org,” where people can make online donations to one of four nonprofits and Groupon will match the gift. Groupon added a slide for the website to its online version of the ad.
Groupon also sponsored Super Bowl ads in support of Greenpeace and The Rainforest Action Network, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Elizabeth Hurley respectively. They talked about how Groupon could help them save money on a whale watching cruise and a Brazilian bikini wax, respectively. Both failed to mention how Groupon buyers could donate money to the nonprofits.
“Our DNA is charity,” Ms Mossler said in Groupon’s defense, adding that the company’s founding principle of group buying was born from the concept of group giving, and therefore Groupon’s fundraising campaigns are in keeping with its roots.
But is supporting a nonprofit that promotes Tibetan independence – whatever the style of related television commercials may be – in keeping with Groupon’s future expansion goals?
The China Daily, an English newspaper in China, quoted Groupon’s president and chief operating officer Rob Solomon saying the company intended to bring its business model to China, where a number of Groupon copycats have already started tapping the country’s fast-growing market of online shoppers. The paper reported that Groupon would partner with the Chinese internet company Tencent, but Groupon isn’t commenting on that right now, not after the bold statement it made during the Super Bowl.iframe>
