J's Page

Originally established for times when I needed more than 140 characters to finish a thought on marketing or media.

Groupon and CP+B: No crying over spilled fish curry

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ED’S NOTE: This post reflects my interest in advertising as a marketing student. It does not endorse any product, services or agency. The opinions expressed here are mine and in no way reflect the opinions of my employers.

Advertising fun bunch CP+B is having a bad week, Ad Age reports.

Burger King jumped ship after seven years (no loss there), and Groupon’s Andrew Mason is still apologizing for the Super Bowl ad that has been wrongly vilified as the most tasteless spot ever produced in the history of advertising. It’s more than a month after the Super Bowl. Are we really still talking about this? Did the ad really hurt the deal-of-the-day site? Not likely. We are still talking about this ad. No one will shut up about Groupon. The publicity couldn’t have been all bad.

C’mon, didn’t Groupon know what agency they were hiring?

If you don’t want flavor, don’t order the curry. Here’s a similar sentiment from the Ad Age story:

The situation illustrates a classic tension in marketer-agency relationships: Clients say they want to take risks, but later realize they weren’t ready or can’t stomach the criticism associated with them. And CP&B is nothing if not a risk-taker, known for ads that reap miles of PR, even if they stir up controversy.

Maybe when Groupon goes public, Mason can afford some big-boy pants.

As for the disputed ad, judge for yourselves:

Author: Jacqui Barrineau

Jacqui Barrineau is a writer and editor who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., with husband Trey, a Shetland Sheepdog, and two unhelpful-but-funny cats. Her work has appeared in "So to Speak" and "Calliope," and she's a regular contributor to the flash-fiction sites Paragraph Planet and Doorknobs & Bodypaint. Once upon a time, she was the audience engagement editor at USA Today. Now she does other fun things that involve advertising, marketing and social media. The views expressed here and in other outlets are hers, not her employers'. Outside of work, she's proud to serve on the Northern Virginia Community College Marketing Advisory Committee. As a committee member, she joins industry leaders in lending their knowledge and expertise to ensure the college's Marketing curriculum is relevant and responsive to the needs of the students and the surrounding business communities.

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