When ambitious marketers and their branding agencies decide they want to make a big media splash, many choose to sink a ton of coin into high-ticket television spots on the Super Bowl. It can mean instant fame. Or it can mean instant infamy. Take the case of this year’s ill-fated Groupon commercials. Like most marketers in this highly visible venue, too much time was spent worrying about being edgy enough. Are we being sufficiently outrageous? Are we going to make the top ten list of viewers favs? Are we laugh-out-loud funny? Not enough time was spent making sure they were building their brand. Not enough energy was expended on making sure their message was clear.
Consequently, they blew their wad on “spoof” commercials. And what did Groupon and its creative agency Crispin Porter+Bogusky choose to spoof? Surprise, surprise! The world’s depleted rain forests, dying whales and teary-eyed Tibetan children. You can’t get more hilarious than that. Wait, what?
So Groupon––a leader in Social Media–– uses pricey traditional media to cut their own throats. And they do it with multiple commercials on the most-watched Super Bowl in Super Bowl history. To add insult to injury, Social Media is the tool that is used by disgusted former Groupon users to voice their protest.
Let’s sample a few customer remarks that appeared on their blog and Facebook pages:
“Shame on you for exploiting the misery of the Tibetan people to advertise your company. If this is the sensitivity you have for others, you surely can’t be a company I want to do business with.” ––Nick
“So after two years, you decide you need to run an ad making light of the Tibetan situation? Seriously? What the heck were you thinking, other than that you want your customers to leave?”––Adam
“You guys screwed up. You owe the Tibetan people a public apology for trivializing their position. I know I am not the only person that will be boycotting Groupon from here on out.” ––Eric
“Your commercials were disgusting and insensitive. Definitely not amusing at all.”—Concerned Viewer
So what is the moral of this story? Cool media venues are never enough. You and your advertising agencies using the latest mobile technology, the hippest Social Media or the hottest television venue is never, never enough. Good marketing needs strong strategies and results-oriented creative solutions. The medium is never the message. And before you and your creative agency try to entertain or be edgy and outrageous, make sure you are communicating your message. The message that was never communicated in the Groupon spots was this: Groupon was donating tons of money to all of these causes. One customer on the Groupon blog sums up the missing ingredient in all of these commercials:
“You guys left out the single most important sentence in each of these commercials… ‘… And $15 will be donated to save (Tibet)(whales)(ETC)’ Without the punch line, these commercials just make you look like asses.” ––Mike
