Owning the Experience: Groupon Hits Home with this "Have-Done"
In my 30 years of experience in the creative business, I have seen a lot of ads. Some good, some bad, and many in between. Many of the most popular ones have been so because they have been funny or outrageous, like seeing NBA player Dennis Rodman in a bubble bath pitching Silestone. Some have captured the essence of beauty, enticing you to want to grab hold of it by buying a perfume like Lancome's La Vie Est Belle. Rarely, however, has an ad caught my attention because I could relate to it. Today, that all changed. Groupon pegged me - my personality, my lifestyle and my outlook - to a tee, with its new ad campaign titled "Own the Experience." I literally paused the TV, rewound it to watch the commercial again, and immediately began telling everyone about it. Watch the clip below and then let me tell you why...
Click here to view Groupon "Own the Experience" ad
A number of years back, I was talking with a friend who lived in an area of town I have since moved from. She commented that there were simply "two types of people in this area: the haves and the have-nots." I was left pretty much speechless, as I was certainly not as well-to-do as many others in that community, but nor was I quite as poor as the "have-nots" she was referring to. Where the heck did I fit in? And did I really want to be in a neighborhood where I would be given the choice of either looking down my nose at others who were considered "less than" or groveling at the feet of the wealthy? When circumstances led me to a more solidly middle class area, where all races were considered equal and people were judged by how neighborly they were, rather than the size of their wallets, I was never so happy.
Today, the size of our family income would put us in the "haves" category if I lived in that other area of town. Instead, however, I prefer to live where we do...in a nice middle class neighborhood surrounded by awesome people who also have the most fascinating lives. I even have an up-and-coming rock star across the street! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are the class of people this Groupon ad celebrates: the "have-dones!" From kayaking the Great Barrier Reef to hitching a ride in a hot air balloon, I wouldn't trade all the money and status in the world for all that I have experienced in my life! Here's to the rest of the have-dones out there and to experiencing life to the fullest. Thanks, Groupon, for making me smile today! :-)