Come on, admit it. You fell for it, and maybe part of your indifferent reaction to special interest groups (SIGs) hammering Groupon is because you were fooled.
It’s a bit of bait and switch, but you don’t feel betrayed. There’s a driblet of cleverness to it. It’s clearly tongue-in-cheek with a splash of humor.
The discerning person understands Groupon isn’t trivializing any causes. Almost from the get-go, you can feel and see it in the tone of each commercial that everything isn’t what it seems. Your intuition is rewarded when the scenes change and Tim, Cuba and Elizabeth speak of special deals they earned by acting quickly on a Groupon offer.
I know what you’re thinking: isn’t my position on these commercials contradictory to my take on the HomeAway commercial in my previous post?
Not at all.
Groupon is a different case entirely. I argue that the Groupon commercials passed the tests the HomeAway “Test Baby” ad flunked miserably, and they did so with flying colors. Why? Because nothing in the Groupon commercials startle you or make you wince. The takeaway message is simple and memorable, and the subtle amusement of the ads draw smiles from most viewers. Brand affinity at worst stays neutral, but more likely is enhanced because the public appreciates wit drawn while walking a fine line.
Something else. While many of us may sympathize with the plight of the Tibetan people, few of us are actively involved or support their cause in any way. The same goes for whales and the demise of the Amazon rainforest. We’re too far removed from these important issues and until we feel the pain directly, we’ll stay passively interested. The organizations that stepped up and and buried the HomeAway “Test Baby” commercial represent issues that are far more personal. Probably 99% of us can sympathize with injury to a helpless and completely dependent infant and we all can comprehend the horrific lifelong consequences of a brain injury.
Regrettably, loud voices not of reason won out and Groupon has decided to stop running the commercials.
I suggest Groupon missed an opportunity to seize the upper hand and gain the support of those sympathizing the state of the Tibetan people, the Amazon rainforest and whales. All they had to do was promote a well-known organization that is aids each cause. Add a message at the bottom of each commercial with a web URL to donate, and, a promise that Groupon will match donations up to a total of, oh, I don’t know, something non-trivial, like, say, $1,000,000.
Problem solved.
Sidebar
Most evocative line in the series: “But not all deforestation is bad.” When Ms. Hurley reveals the Groupon savings is for a Brazilian wax at Completely Bare, the naked truth of its inference is quite titillating and elicits all kinds of emotions and reactions from both sexes.
Is she, or isn’t she? Or have we all been duped?
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