Groupon’s Tibet Super Bowl ad riles China

Groupon has been working hard to expand their operations in China amid a plethora of local competitors, and they didn’t help themselves out much with their much-yakked about Super Bowl ad. The Wall Street Journal summarizes it:

The commercial in question involves actor Timothy Hutton, who makes light of Tibet’s social ills by touting a discount offer on Groupon:

“Mountainous Tibet – one of the most beautiful places in the world. This is Timothy Hutton. The people of Tibet are in trouble, their very culture in jeopardy. But they still whip up an amazing fish curry. And since 200 of us bought on Groupon.com we’re getting $30 worth of Tibetan food for just $15 at Himalayan restaurant in Chicago.”

Obviously, as you can imagine, the Free Tibet crowd is up-in-arms over the advertisement, which it feels makes light of the current situation in Tibet. But Groupon has done something even more miraculous: angered both sides in the debate.

Posts on Sina’s microblog, known as Weibo, are biting in their criticism of the advertisement, especially as Groupon tries to grow inside the country. Below are a selection of posts, translated into English: (h/t @goldkorn)