Groupon Pulls Controversial TV Ads

A series of commercials for the price-saving website spoofed humanitarian causes.

They probably should have known this wouldn’t fly. In one of the controversial ads, actor Timothy Hutton bemoans the plight of Tibetans, before exclaiming, “But they still whip up an amazing fish curry!” and advising viewers to use Groupon to save at restaurants. The series of ads, which also included spoofs on campaigns to stop the deforestation of the rainforest and the declining whale population, has now been pulled. Groupon founder Andrew Mason defended the ads by saying they were meant to poke fun at his company, not at important causes, and that Groupon offered links on its website to donate to the causes it lampooned. The company will match any donations made by its customers up to $100,000.