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:
