Groupon's Tale From Tibet: Bad Taste, Pure and Simple

Crispin Porter + Bogusky took irreverence to a whole new low on Sunday by making light of the suffering of the people of Tibet in a Groupon Super Bowl commercial.Years ago, I saw members of this agency's creative team in a battle of the ad bands at New York City's CBGB. The Miami hipsters had named their mock band Iconic Trucker Hat. I didn't understand them then, and I certainly don't now.CP+B has earned a reputation for witty and catchy. But perhaps it's time they looked out of their posh windows, and realized their parodies are at the expense of a nation led by an exiled Nobel Peace Prize winner but ravaged by genocide and torture.Tibetans have suffered well-documented abuses since China's illegal occupation more than 50 years ago. Forced labor camps, disappearances, forced sterilization of women and torture are nothing to laugh at. The narrator led the ad with, "Mountainous Tibet, one of the most beautiful places in the world. This is Timothy Hutton. The people of Tibet are in trouble, their very culture is in jeopardy—but they still whip up an amazing fish curry, and since 200 of us just bought at Groupon.com, were getting $30 of Tibetan food for just $15 at Himalayan Restaurant in Chicago." Perhaps Hutton and CP+B should do a bit of fact checking. Robert Barnett, a professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University, stated, "It seems cultural knowledge is not their strength, since fish is rarely if ever eaten in Tibet. Curry comes from India. Fish curry does not exist in Tibetan cuisine."Sadly, as I called the restaurant to ask about its participation in this debacle (and if it indeed served fish curry), I was told it had not seen the advertisement; it was coordinated by Groupon.As I watched the ad, my mind turned to another totalitarian regime. Would CP+B have made an ad for matzo ball soup, dismissing the holocaust as an inconvenience, but a benefit for Americans' gastronomic discounts? Perhaps a great Egyptian restaurant, one where you don't hear rioting in the streets while you dine at discount prices?Interestingly, in the world of nonprofits, there has been much talk lately about utilizing the Groupon model to benefit charities. Indeed, Groupon itself grew out of an initiative that was intended to benefit worthy causes. But considering this Super Bowl advertisement, it appears that Groupon has no interest in helping anyone, and will use its venture capital to push buttons to raise its own "chatter" at the expense of others.I find it interesting that CP+B represents so many brands that are staple names in American households: Microsoft, Burger King, Old Navy, Coca-Cola and Domino's Pizza. Are these brands comfortable receiving advice from this agency?Apparently, after you succumb to signing up for Groupon, there is an offer on its site to donate $15 to a Tibet-related NGO. Interestingly, even though the ad on YouTube has well above 37,000 views at the time of this writing, only 163 people in the New York region had made donations (the target is 1,000). At $15 per person, that is $2,445 for the charity; doubled, that is $4,890. Seems the idea that donations would follow hasn't reached the traction that could remotely rationalize the concept of the ad.Sorry Groupon, but my conscious can't be bought by a discount, nor an "aren't we cheeky" ad campaign during the Super Bowl. Perhaps you should reassess the buying public in a country that actually cares about the Declaration of Human Rights. And CP+B, maybe you should spend some time working with political prisoners—try applying practical knowledge to your campaigns. And to both agency and client: maybe all the money involved should just be sent to charity without forcing users to sign up for poor-taste services.Heidi Minx is a youth and social activism marketing expert and journalist. She is also the founder of Built on Respect, a nonprofit dedicated to education and pro-active sustainable solutions to help the Tibetan cause (www.BuiltOnRespect.com). She can be reached at minx@builtonrespect.com.

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Groupon's Tale From Tibet: Bad Taste, Pure and Simple

Heidi Minx

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Heidi Minx