Groupon Issues a Non-Apology
So how did Groupon react to the negative reaction to its Super Bowl ads? It seems to have issues an apology without issuing an apology. CEO Andrew Mason admits on the company’s blog that it may have offended customers, and that it wasn’t their intent.
But Groupon didn’t apologize, and some people left comments on the blog post to call Groupon out for that. Groupon claims its intent was not to trivialize causes, but the fact is they did. You can’t talk about the plight of people in Tibet and that say it’s okay because they still make a great fish curry without trivializing… and offending.
The tone of Mason’s apology was pretty much “Dude, if you don’t understand the joke, you’re not smart enough to be our customer. But to paraphrase the great Mark Del Franco (Multichannel Merchant’s former managing editor), if you have to explain the joke, it’s not funny.
Groupon’s intention to do good things is there. It just wasn’t communicated right. And Groupon doesn’t seem to get it.
Here’s Mason’s post:
Our Super Bowl Ads, and How We
