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Grading the Statement: Groupon Apology
Grading the Statement is a periodic feature on SoundBites in which we judge the effectiveness of news releases and other public statements.
The Super Bowl has come and gone, but those who bought pricey Super Bowl ads are still wringing positive PR value from their splashy spots. Volkswagen has released "behind the scenes" footage from its adorable Darth Vader commercial (29 million views and counting on YouTube). Chrysler, which saw searches for its 200 sedan leap 1,619% following its "Imported from Detroit" commercial with Eminem, ran the ad again during the Grammys, where the Motown-born rapper was up for several awards. These advertisers are making smart moves to keep their Super Bowl hits in the public consciousness for as long as possible.
But one Super Bowl advertiser-Groupon-is just hoping that everyone will forget about its campaign. The coupon site rarely runs advertising, but it splurged on a Super Bowl buy. It backed its purchase with the creative help of an envelope-pushing ad agency, Crispin Porter Bogusky, and famed director Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show). It all led to . . . a colossal failure.
The popular view: at best, the ads were insensitive; at worst, they exploited the suffering of others for Groupon's benefit. CEO Andre Morton attempted a defense of the ads, but it was drown out by unrelenting criticism. Finally, Groupon made the call to pull the ads. The CEO's statement announcing the withdrawal of the ads is a prototypical example of crisis communications. Let's see how he did.
Below is the statement, which appeared on the Groupon blog. Our commentary appears in bold:
Five days have passed since the Super Bowl, and one thing is clear - our ads offended a lot of people. Tuesday I posted an explanation, but as many of you have pointed out, if an ad requires an explanation, that means it didn't work.
A fine start. The CEO admits the commercials didn't work. An obvious point, but one he hadn't conceded yet. The admission of error has an immediate disarming effect on critics, who will now be open to hearing the rest of the statement. Humor can have a disarming effect as well, and though Groupon is known for being a bit goofy, it correctly sensed that this situation-in which it is being criticized for making light of tragic circumstances-was not time or place to be lighthearted.
We hate that we offended people, and we're very sorry that we did - it's the last thing we wanted. We've listened to your feedback, and since we don't see the point in continuing to anger people, we're pulling the ads (a few may run again tomorrow - pulling ads immediately is sometimes impossible). We will run something less polarizing instead. We thought we were poking fun at ourselves, but clearly the execution was off and the joke didn't come through. I personally take responsibility; although we worked with a professional ad agency, in the end, it was my decision to run the ads.
This is the critical paragraph, and it falls flat. At this point, Groupon's defense of its ads has failed. The thing to do now is apologize without qualification. Unfortunately, Groupon offers only a pseudo-apology, in which it apologizes for the effect of its ad on the audience (offense and anger), without actually taking ownership of its mistake. You see pseudo-apologies quite often, and they only stir anger because the underlying message is: "I'm going to be magnanimous and apologize for your misunderstanding." Groupon's unwillingness to accept blame is emphasized in the near-comical final sentence in which the CEO, in a single breath, claims to take responsibility and simultaneously notes that the ads were produced by a third party.
To the charities (for which we expect to net over $500,000) and others that have spoken out on our behalf, we appreciate your support.
Excellent. He notes that Groupon is making significant donations to related charities, and makes note of the fact that they are supportive of Groupon, but does so with appropriate subtlety. Groupon would only compound its mistake by trumpeting these points too loudly, and, thus, opening itself to criticism that it is hiding behind the charities' support.
To those who were offended, I feel terrible that we made you feel bad. While we've always been a little quirky, we certainly aren't trying to be the kind of company that builds its brand on creating controversy - we think the quality of our product is a much stronger message.
The pseudo-apology rears its head again. Groupon apologizes for making viewers "feel bad," but that's not what viewers want an apology for. They want an apology for Groupon's insensitivity . . . something it still has not owned up to.
Grade: C-
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