Tag Archives: Groupon

Dying Social?


By  ThinkProgress War Room

Guns & Alcohol Don’t Mix

If there’s one thing Americans don’t need a coupon for, it’s an outing mixing guns and alcohol. Unfortunately, LivingSocial seems to think otherwise.

A new report out today from CREDO Action and the Gun Truth Project calls out the daily deal and experience company for offering booze and bullet-fueled experiences from coast to coast. The wide variety of deals even sometimes feature AR-15s, the same assault rifle used to kill 20 children and 6 educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Other experiences include AK-47s, semi-automatic pistols, and rifles.

Beyond perhaps being in poor taste, the experiences suggest that guns and alcohol go together. They don’t.

CREDO didn’t mince words when it came to calling out LivingSocial:

“In the wake of Newtown, I’d like to know how the people who own or work for LivingSocial can justify profiting from the packaging of AK-47 shooting sprees with an evening of bourbon shots,” Becky Bond, CREDO’s political director, said in a statement.

The company, she added, “is endangering the public health by suggesting pairing assault weapons with alcohol binges is just good clean fun.”

Data shows just how dangerous guns and alcohol can be when combined:

Mixing guns and alcohol is unfortunately common among those attracted to risky behaviors. As the report notes, 86 percent of homicide offenders were drinking at the time of the homicide. Gun owners also have far higher binge-drinking and chronic alcohol abuse rates than people who don’t own guns. People who carry concealed weapons or have confronted someone with a gun are more than twice as likely to drink heavily than non-owners.

In contrast to LivingSocial, its main competitor, Groupon, cancelled all gun-related deals in North America after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

LivingSocial, which lost $650 MILLION last year and $50 MILLION so far this year, has received more than $30 MILLION in tax credits from the District of Columbia, which, ironically, has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.

To find out more, check out the entire report HERE. If you think that guns and alcohol shouldn’t mix, you can contact LivingSocial using this form and tell them so.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Minnesota passes marriage equality.

GOP congressman claims the president covered up Benghazi by calling it “an act of terror” instead of “terrorist attack.”

Obama mocks charges of Benghazi cover up.

Clothing retailers agree to upgrade safety in Bangladeshi factories.

Seven outlandish things the Heritage Foundation’s remaining employees believe.

Illegal abortion provider convicted of murder.

GOP senator launches hypocritical attack on Health & Human Services Secretary.

The IRS went after the NAACP in 2004.

Why the Department of Justice is going after the Associated Press’ records.

The real scoop on …Groupon


So did you catch the Super Bowl?

You might be surprised that the staff at Rainforest Action Network had our eyes glued to the game. Actually, the post-game. Okay, really just the post-game ads.

Why? The folks at Groupon (you know, the online coupon people) ran a post-game Super Bowl ad where Elizabeth Hurley talks about the problem of deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest.

If you haven’t seen the ad yet, don’t get excited about the rapid evolution of Super Bowl ads. Liz also talked about her need for a Brazilian wax: “Not all deforestation is bad.” Painful, I know.

The part we’re excited about is that the ad directs viewers to Groupon’s Save The Money campaign where you can save money by giving money to RAN. http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tPaxzQs%2FrS9X8bzY0G6QO2tLL4WBA8kG  

That’s right, when you give $15 Groupon will turn it into $30. Poof! It’s magic. http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hB9HFHRKENECygth1bjE3GtLL4WBA8kG  

Since Groupon started out as a platform for social change (called The Point), even though they run a multimillion dollar coupon cash cow and made some seriously flawed Super Bowl ads, they still have hearts and want to do good in the world.

Why do we need YOU to jump on this? Groupon uses group buying power—or in this case, group giving power—which means it takes 1000 wonderful people like you giving $15 to “activate” the deal or we don’t get a dime. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Bupkis. 

  http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mAExMwa0shGfAc2KQ1QUv2tLL4WBA8kG 

That’s why you’ve got to give today, and then tell ALL your friends!

Once the deal tips, Groupon will double donations up to $100,000, which means more awesome RAN actions to protect rainforests, defend human rights, halt climate change and kick corporate butt.

If you’re the kind of person who wants your money to make the biggest impact possible, now’s the time—Groupon it!

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2B4DJhTQJmjZwq7DG1W3m%2BmtLL4WBA8kG

For the planet,

David Taylor

Online Director

Save the Whales. Save the Money.


If you were watching the Super Bowl the other night (or at least tuning in for the always entertaining commercials) you may have seen a commercial starring Cuba Gooding Jr. about saving the whales.

It was a pretty tongue-in-cheek message about over-the-top celebrity cause advertising, which is what the sponsors of the commercial, Groupon, were going for. Since they started out as a collective action and philanthropy site, they loved the idea of poking fun at themselves by talking about discounts as a noble cause.

The commercial was part of a Groupon campaign called “Save the Money.” Greenpeace is happily participating in the campaign. The truth is that the “Save the Money” campaign and the commercial are really helping us save the whales.

Don’t worry if you missed it. You can check it out right now: below Cuba Gooding on video

 http://us.greenpeace.org/site/R?i=n0cdj4izh2vfqWpckko5NQ..

Here’s how it works: Groupon is collecting donations from individuals to help Greenpeace save the whales. People can purchase a $15 Groupon to save the whales and when they do Groupon matches that by giving the person $15 in Groupon credit. It’s a great campaign and it’s really going to help us in our work.

So check it out, sign-up and save the whales (and the money).

Sincerely,

John Hocevar