Save the Whales. Save the Money.

by John Hocevar

February 7, 2011

If you were watching the Super Bowl on February 6 (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 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.

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).

John Hocevar

By John Hocevar

An accomplished campaigner, explorer, and marine biologist, John has helped win several major victories for marine conservation since becoming the director of Greenpeace's oceans campaign in 2004.

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