Ethics in Advertisement
Ethics refers to moral principles that influence a person’s behavior. Moral, on the other hand, is what is right or wrong. Therefore, ethics in advertisement means a company is obligated to have principles that govern the advertisement content. Advertising is a crucial aspect of marketing and probably the most important. However, nowadays advertisements have declined to pay attention to ethics. For instance, commercials lie, make false and unrealistic claims, and sometimes are not sensitive towards peoples’ cultures. The 2011 Groupon Super Bowl Ad is no exception as immediately after airing; people expressed their disappointments in the social media making one of the most controversial Super Bowl advertisements. This paper will give a critical analysis of the Groupon 2011 Super Bowl advertisement from an ethical point of view.
The Advertisement Controversy
The 30 seconds commercial begins with Timothy Hutton calling out for people to pay attention to the troubles of people of Tibet. Timothy states that although mountainous Tibet is one of the most beautiful destinations in the world, its people are in the trouble of culture jeopardy. At this point, the viewer of the advertisement is sympathetic to the situation and probably wondering how they can be of help. However, Timothy compassionate mood changes all of a sudden to that of jaunty surprise. He states that “but they still whip up an amazing fish curry. And since 200 of us bought on Groupon.com, we are getting $30 worth of Tibetan food for just $15” (Sportsmetro, 2011). The statement left viewers furious on how the heavy matter of Tibet trouble could in anyway is meant to make people laugh.
Tibet's Marginalization
Tibet is the most marginalized area of China and has the highest poverty rates with limited access to education (Fischer, 2005). Most of the issues experienced in the area are as a result of social-economic marginalization. Tibet maintained a unique culture, language, and religion for centuries until 1950 when China invaded the area for economic development (Fischer, 2005). China has a laid plan to exploit the area’s resources which have left Tibet vulnerable to foreign invasion overwhelmingly. Tibet existed as a sovereign state before China took over and ruled the area. Moreover, it has no representation in the United Nations which has given China the go-ahead to occupy and erode its culture. Moreover, the area has faced unrest as the people attempt to create resistance movements to protest against marginalization and China’s control.
The Insensitivity of the Groupon Super Bowl Ad
The Groupon Super Bowl commercial signified a missing element of insensitivity to the people of Tibet. Consequently, a survey conducted by Metrix indicated that the commercial finished 54 of the 58 tracked spots (Elliott, 2011). The theme of the campaign is to save money and viewers had a hard time contemplating how the theme is linked to the troubles of people of Tibet. In defense of the advertisement, the marketing team states that when consumers save money, they get the notion that they are saving something.
Disrespecting Basic Human Needs
The Groupon organization spent almost three million dollars to make the commercial and had to recruit the actual residents to make it more realistic (Farnham, 2011). Showing respect for basic human needs is a core ethical principle. Every time a person comes across someone experiencing a lack of basic needs, the first instinct is to help out. However, the Groupon commercial found humor in the situation. The organization made a clear statement that it had no intentions of hurting anyone. Andrew Mason, chief executive at Groupon, said that the organization takes human needs seriously, which motivated the creation of the commercial. Moreover, some of the organization’s savings are directed towards raising money for charity (Elliott, 2011). Probably it is true that the organization had no intentions of causing so much controversy. However, the team responsible for creating the commercial had a chance to view it before it was aired. Therefore, is it possible no one noticed the advertisement’s disrespectful nature? I believe the intentions of the advertisement were deliberate. It was meant to provoke people's minds and promote fundraising to help Tibet. For a viewer who does not understand the issues faced by the people of Tibet, the commercial may have been funny. However, I believe airing such jokes is risky and in this case, the humor was misfired. Super Bowl commercials are part of the reasons people watch the game. Therefore, organizations are often under pressure to make the most memorable commercial. I believe there is no such thing as bad publicity, but it is possible for an organization to make a mistake out of pressure to make a perfect advertisement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear that the Groupon 2011 Super Bowl commercial is unethical as it has an emotional impact on the viewers. It is normal for commercials to address social-political issues and remain ethical, but the commercial failed to deliver its purpose. The narrator mentioned the region’s unstable situation then stated: “they still whip up an amazing Curry.” It is difficult to tell the connection between the discount and the people of Tibet. Maybe if the advertisement had focused more on the issue and proposed a mitigation measure, it would have seemed more ethical. Considering Super Bowl commercials are expensive, the advertisement is one of the dark moments of Groupon. Furthermore, they may have lost consumers who took the matter to heart and got offended.
References
Elliott, S. 2011. Groupon ad on Super Bowl Rated a Miss by Many Fans. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/business/media/08adco.html
Farnham, A. 2011. Groupon’s Controversial TV Commercials. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/groupon-super-bowl-commercial-ignites-controversy/story?id=12856998
Fischer, A. M. 2005. State Growth and Social Exclusion in Tibet. Asia, NIAS Press
Sportsmetro. 2011. Groupon Super Bowl Ad: Save the Money-Tibet. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFT2yjk0A
