Groupon Does Something Stupid Again... What Did I Tell You?

What did I tell you? I wrote on January 24, 2010 that we wouldn't have to wait long for the  management of Groupon to do something stupid again and, not even three weeks later, they have.


The management of Groupon must be geeks who are geniuses at the Internet but not have any common sense when dealing with people in the real world. They've gone and messed up again. Less than one month after I predicted that they would screw up soon!


There's something funny (and I don't mean humorous) about Groupon management.


Now it seems that they managed to blow millions on Superbowl ads that failed to get the message across and, in fact, made a lot of people angry.


NY Times reports:


Groupon may not be making its initial public offering yet — but it has made its mark on millions watching the Super Bowl, anyway. 
What is not clear yet is whether the start-up has burned through a lot of good will.


The company bought its first television ads for the big game, starting before kickoff, with one theme: “Save the Money.” All the commercials are premised on saving something endangered — and a few bucks to boot.


There’s Cuba Gooding Jr. lamenting the fate of whales, while touting a 43 percent discount on a whale-watching boat ride. And there’s Elizabeth Hurley, intoning about the rapid deforestation of the Brazilian rain forest … followed by a note that “not all deforestation is bad,” like a 50 percent discount on a Brazilian wax in New York City. 


Actually, as a person who does cares about the environment, I can say that this ad with Elizabeth Hurley pissed me off:





OK, maybe I can understand the management of Groupon being ignorant and callous about Japanese sensitivities, but being ignorant of American Liberal tendencies? Making fun a a serious environmental problem? 


Laughable. Well, it would be laughable if it were a joke. But Groupon is about as much a joke as Amway was... So laugh if you will.


Please don't come back to me saying that "Groupon matches your sale with an investment to a charity." For one, I am not impressed with a 50% off sale (when they are just going to pass that cost off to their clients anyway). And I am not impressed by most of these dodgy charities.


(For a charity that I approve of see Rock Challenge Japan)


If Groupon were really sincere in trying to create goodwill then they'd have just made a commercial saying that they would match donations or make a commercial that asked you to help donate to the cause. 


How this company got to be such a big buzz is beyond me. I mean, who wants to keep getting bombarded with ads to buy crap that no one needs? Why would I want to get a 50% discount on a $4 hamburger that takes me 1.5 hours round-trip to get to?


In my opinion, the Groupon business model is non-sustainable and, if they keep making gaffes like this, they won't last 10 years. 


I'm getting to hate Groupon.


This old lady hates it too! Read this. It's pretty funny. From the Angry Blogger.

This 102 year old grandmother can’t take GroupOn’s constant “massage” coupons or other useless crap it offers. The amazement started when she heard about this ‘coupon’ site. She’s notorious for collecting and saving hundreds of dollars using coupons. Then her grandson decided to bring her up to speed for her coupons with an iPad. She was thrilled to learn how to get coupons easily daily, until the app opened up. As she clinked her scissors in one hand she realized she just needed to save her fifty cents on toilet paper, another $1 on mascara, and where the hell were her buy one get one free bread offers? Why did she keep getting offers like $89 for a Boudoir Photography Session at Red1 Studios ($450 Value)? Her weak heart cried out, “I’m 102 sonny, no one wants to see me in this sexy outfit I have on.” Another coupon comes into her email, $20 for $40 Worth of Asian Cuisine at Mr. Yum. She snickers, they give me gas. But if I had a coupon for Zantac I’d probably eat there.

So GroupOn, if you are going to keep sending crap out to grandma like $15 for One Hour of Billiards and One Pitcher of Beer or Soda at Doral Billiards & Sports Bar ($32 Value) make sure it comes with delivery service for people that are 102 years old!

Read more at The Angry Blogger. 


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