Awww, poor Groupon. Less than a week after Timothy Hutton’s misdirect about Tibet advertised the company’s group discounts, the company has ended its entire advertising campaign because sensitive people with nothing better to do got offended and complained.
The decision was announced on the company’s blog and included an apology from the company’s CEO Andrew Mason: “We hate that we offended people, and we’re very sorry that we did–it’s the last thing we wanted.”
The company had previously made the decision to discontinue the spot that aired during the game’s third quarter after complaints lit up the company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The ad featured Timothy Hutton, who talks about how the Tibetan culture is in jeopardy. “But they still whip up an amazing fish curry, and since 200 of us bought at Groupon.com, we’re each getting $30 worth of Tibetan food for just $15…in Chicago.” In other commercials, Cuba Gooding Jr. saves half on a whale-watching expedition, and Elizabeth Hurley pays half for a bikini wax after talking about deforestation in Brazil. [eMoney]
Personally, I thought the ad was striking and memorable, but I didn’t find it offensive. Of course, I hardly find anything offensive. I laugh at dead baby jokes and a meme called LOLocaust, I sure as hell don’t mind using Tibet to sell coupons. Also hilarious: the millions and millions of dollars the company just flushed down the toilet.
