Chicagoist Weekend Theater: Remembering Groupon's Infamous Super Bowl Ads
By Jon Graef in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 2, 2014 8:45PM
Seeing as Chicago doesn't really have a stake in the Super Bowl this year, now's as good a time as any to revisit Groupon's infamous Super Bowl ads. You can read about the whole sordid affair in our archives, but, needless to say, the ads represent the starting point of the one-time golden company's downfall.
Jokes were explained, explained, and then explained some more, and the company's CEO, Andrew Mason, eventually issued an apology.
The one ad in particular that drew the most criticism was the "Save the Money" ad with actor Timothy Hutton, which stoked the ire of people who thought it was insensitive to the Tibetan people's plight.
Groupon did not run any ads the following year.
Watch all three ads below, plus a "Conan" sketch spoofing them.
Here's a CBS segment about Groupon as well: