Online coupon site Groupon Inc.’s first foray into Super Bowl advertising aimed for humor but instead struck a raw nerve with viewers and human-rights groups for mocking serious social issues.
In one commercial, Timothy Hutton says “the people in Tibet are in trouble, their culture is in jeopardy,” as pictures of Tibet are shown on the screen. The punchline? It turns out he’s talking about a fish curry deal groupon.com offered.
The ad, which debuted during American TV’s biggest night in advertising, when spots go for $3 million for 30 seconds, sparked widespread negative reaction on Twitter and Facebook.
According to research firm Alterian’s “Buzz Bowl,” which measures online activity, Groupon was among the five most-discussed advertisers online. But the buzz was bad, with 13 percent of conversations classified as “negative” and just 6 percent “positive.”
The Groupon ads weren’t the only ones that some felt went too far.
Homeaway.com, a vacation rental Web site, ran an ad that showed people trying to fit into a crowded hotel room in a testing lab, resulting in a “test-baby” being flung against a glass window.
While slapstick humor is always common among Super Bowl ads — Pepsi Max had two ads showing people getting clocked in various body parts with soda cans — the “test baby” gag crossed a line suggesting child abuse for some viewers.
In Groupon’s pre-game ad, Cuba Gooding Jr. decried the plight of whales, but then touted a groupon.com deal for a whale watching cruise. In a post-game commercial, Elizabeth Hurley lamented deforestation but then discussed a deal on a Brazilian wax.
The ads were created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami, an agency known for quirky work for Burger King and Ikea, and directed by Christopher Guest (“A Mighty Wind”).
All ads point viewers to http://www.savethemoney.org, which does actually encourage visitors to donate to each…