There’s a line in one of my favorite Billy Joel songs, “Angry Young Man”, that reads “it’s a comfort to know his intentions are good.” That is where I am going to start regarding my opinion of the recent Groupon/Super Bowl ad controversy and Andrew Mason.
If you haven’t seen it or are unaware of the issue, deal-of-the-day website Groupon ran a series of ads that many viewers found offensive. The reason for the negative response is because the ads appear to mock serious social issues.
In response to the public outcry, Groupon CEO Andrew Mason posted a blog explaining the company’s reasoning for the ads.
As I mentioned earlier, Mason clearly explained the ads are meant to, “highlight the often trivial nature of stuff on Groupon when juxtaposed against bigger world issues, making fun of Groupon.” Mason goes on to compare the campaign, created by ad firm Crispin Porter & Bogusky, to another CP+B Super bowl ad for Hulu. This is where Mason meets his colossal #FAIL point.
The Hulu ad is clearly a joke. It’s a very well conceived and brilliantly delivered, tongue-in-cheek look at TV consumption in America. The audience walks away from the ad knowing that Hulu is poking fun at both themselves and the viewers.
The new Groupon ads do not do that. They don’t even come close.
If you look at them collectively, it is possible to see a theme develop. However, for individuals seeing the ads for the first time, the impact is almost horrific. They come across as at the very least confusing and at their worst, downright insulting.
Mason’s failure was allowing CP+B to affect his voice as well as his vision. Groupon tried to be clever and witty with their ads and the juxtaposition they paint between serious issues and penny-pinching consumerism. What they failed to consider is that social awareness is not meant to be the subject of “Ha ha. Just kidding.” antics.
It’s ironic that a company that has succeeded by providing value to its customers failed to understand that value, in and of itself, exists because of emotion. Value is psychological, and without the emotion we place on a particular good or service, there is no such thing as value.
Social awareness and giving, in turn, is wholly emotional. Millions of people sacrifice their time, money, and at times their very own lives, for causes and efforts in which they deeply believe. Social good bleeds emotion, and it is not something that should be treated with flippant disregard, as was the case with the Groupon ad campaign.
Sure, Andrew Mason can look back and try to retrospectively justify his company’s decision as one of raising awareness for issues while poking fun at themselves. He can attempt to rationalize the campaign by claiming the ads are different and not about traditional self-promotion. Mason may even employ service recovery actions to make clear the ads are indeed about social awareness.
The fact remains, however, the decision to employ this ad campaign was to deliberately create buzz about his company, be it positive or negative. It was a $3 million* investment in creating brand awareness. It was a move designed for the benefit of Groupon at the expense of the millions of people who are emotionally invested in social good and social awareness.
With every action or decision, intention is important. Andrew Mason did not intend to offend his audience. But in a way, he really did.
*Source: http://www.superbowl-commercials.org/1071.html
Showing posts with label social good. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social good. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Size Matters
We live in a world where bigger is better. That’s what we’re told at least. We allow ourselves to become obsessed with enormity. Biggest ever. Tallest ever. We’re so infatuated with size, we combine words that describe largeness in order to make things even larger. Ginormous.
The great irony with this obsession is that as large as our planet is, it really only works the smaller it gets.
The annoying song from the Disney ride notwithstanding, I believe greatness in life can be found in the fact we live in a small world. With the ever increasing reach of technology and social media, the world gets smaller and smaller every day. It’s as if these sites are wrapping their arms around the planet and squeezing us all in a little closer, allowing us to better interact with one another, and inspiring us to do good for complete strangers.
Take, for example, the story of Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) and how she turned the purchase of a stuffed and mounted boar’s head into $42,000 of gifts and toys for people around the world. The fact this was accomplished with no planning and almost completely by accident speaks volumes not only to the power of digital media, but also the overflowing generosity of people wanting to help other people.
A pre-cursor to Jenny’s story is how she decided to help a fellow blogger who was recovering from a stroke. Imagine my surprise when the blogger in question, Anissa Mayhew, is someone I know. I don’t know her personally, but I do know her husband. He and I were once peers at work, and we keep in touch through, you guessed it, social media.
In addition to the newfound three degrees of separation between Jenny Lawson and me - who, by the way, has been added to my list of people to admire - I am fascinated by what I continue to see, experience and read about as a result of social media.
Whereas the world was once ‘out there’, out of reach for the common, everyday person; it is now increasingly available to all of us who are willing to interact and collaborate with one another. It used to be the idea of one person making a difference was laughable. Now, it’s not only very plausible, but it is also becoming more and more commonplace as individuals with large vision and even larger hearts are harnessing the power of the digital age to do social good.
There are millions of things we can do and actions we can take to help make a difference in the lives of others. Although the options may seem overwhelming, I invite you to do one simple thing this holiday season. Introduce yourself to someone new and try to foster a new relationship with this person. It doesn’t have to be anything involved or in depth. Rather, simply make an acquaintance out of a stranger. This way, we will all be a little bit more connected, and the world will become just a little smaller as a result. After all, size matters.
The great irony with this obsession is that as large as our planet is, it really only works the smaller it gets.
The annoying song from the Disney ride notwithstanding, I believe greatness in life can be found in the fact we live in a small world. With the ever increasing reach of technology and social media, the world gets smaller and smaller every day. It’s as if these sites are wrapping their arms around the planet and squeezing us all in a little closer, allowing us to better interact with one another, and inspiring us to do good for complete strangers.
Take, for example, the story of Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) and how she turned the purchase of a stuffed and mounted boar’s head into $42,000 of gifts and toys for people around the world. The fact this was accomplished with no planning and almost completely by accident speaks volumes not only to the power of digital media, but also the overflowing generosity of people wanting to help other people.
A pre-cursor to Jenny’s story is how she decided to help a fellow blogger who was recovering from a stroke. Imagine my surprise when the blogger in question, Anissa Mayhew, is someone I know. I don’t know her personally, but I do know her husband. He and I were once peers at work, and we keep in touch through, you guessed it, social media.
In addition to the newfound three degrees of separation between Jenny Lawson and me - who, by the way, has been added to my list of people to admire - I am fascinated by what I continue to see, experience and read about as a result of social media.
Whereas the world was once ‘out there’, out of reach for the common, everyday person; it is now increasingly available to all of us who are willing to interact and collaborate with one another. It used to be the idea of one person making a difference was laughable. Now, it’s not only very plausible, but it is also becoming more and more commonplace as individuals with large vision and even larger hearts are harnessing the power of the digital age to do social good.
There are millions of things we can do and actions we can take to help make a difference in the lives of others. Although the options may seem overwhelming, I invite you to do one simple thing this holiday season. Introduce yourself to someone new and try to foster a new relationship with this person. It doesn’t have to be anything involved or in depth. Rather, simply make an acquaintance out of a stranger. This way, we will all be a little bit more connected, and the world will become just a little smaller as a result. After all, size matters.
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