groupon

This is a well-thought-out move: Low-cost air carrier Virgin America, which has attempted to court passengers with a tech-savvy offering since its 2007 launch, announced today its initial service from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. To drum up online chatter, it partnered with Chicago's company of the moment--Groupon.

Groupon users can purchase $77 worth of Virgin America credit for $7 on the massive group-buying site, with the caveat that it can only be used on the airline's new Chicago routes. Given the amount of positive buzz for a brand that can … Read more

Few companies have changed the e-commerce world in the recent past as much as Groupon, a local-deals broker that has gotten the nation hooked on half-price massages, discounted restaurant bills, and packages offering rock-climbing and yoga combos (though, ideally, not at the same time). It's earned rave reviews for customer service, thanks in part to its hiring of underemployed comedians as copywriters and service reps.

Yet Groupon has taken a beating in the past few weeks--not in terms of traffic, and not from the rise of any of its several dozen smaller competitors--but just because of a few bonehead … Read more

It's Valentine's Day, everyone, so we've got a special edition of Computer Love with special guest Dr. Wendy Walsh dishing out the love 2.0 advice. Also, in the tech news, the worst-kept secret in the tech world is unveiled in Barcelona: the PlayStation Phone. Plus, 10-inch tablets creep out of the woodwork to take on the iPad -- finally -- and will an iPhone Nano make an appearance? --Molly

Do Groupon deals tempt you? Or are you so committed to causes like Tibet and the rain forest that you have switched your allegiance to LivingSocial?

This vital question is placed into strong relief because of some owl-like hooting and town crier hollering that has engulfed Groupon's Thursday deal of $40 worth of flowers for $20.

Was this deal, unlike so many that flood our e-mail in-boxes, too good to be true love? Some seem to think so.

Though the flowers in my house all accidentally fell from other people's gardens, I confess that I was tempted by … Read more

Even when the group in question is slightly whiny and humorless, if enough people band together, they can pull off a revolution.

In this case, I happen to be referring to critics of the Groupon Super Bowl ads. You know, the ones that looked like charity ads at first, but then turned out to be ads for charity at home.

After five days in which Groupon managed very successfully to drown out any public knowledge of something called LivingSocial, which also advertised during the Super Bowl, CEO Andrew Mason declared in a blog post today that the ads are being … Read more

Millions of sports fans gathered around the TV yesterday to watch the "Big Game," and it's hard to believe that another Puppy Bowl has come and gone. Just kidding, if there's one thing we learned from Super Bowl XLV, it's that brand endorsements are ruining the illusion for celebrities like Eminem and Kim Kardashian who would have us believe that they drive Chrysler minivans and wear Skechers Shapeups.

We're wrapping up the winners and losers of the Super Bowl on today's episode of The 404 Podcast, and the winner for lowest blow is a tie between Groupon and Christina Aguilera.

Groupon took a page from Kenneth Cole PR (context) and pulled a "too soon" with an ad exploiting the tragedy in Tibet, while Christina Aguilera changed the lyrics to the National Anthem into a song about vampires squeezing juice from citrus fruits.

I'll leave it to Jeff to do his own reaming on the Black Eyed Peas half-time show before we move onto the most important part of the game: the commercials!

We all agree that for better or worse, this year's commercials stood out from years past, and our favorites include Volkswagen's Darth Vader spoof, Chevy's Camaro ad featuring Bumblebee from the "Transformers," and Doritos and Bud Light touched our hearts with animals doing human things.

There were also a ton of movie trailers that blew up our skirt, so tune into today's show to hear more of our thoughts on "Super 8," "Captain America," the Lingerie Bowl, and Angry Birds in real life!

Groupon understands the American mentality. We are not charitable. We are not drippy, caring, altruistic, do-gooders.

We want a deal. We love a deal. We will sacrifice our feelings for whales, the rainforest, even the plight of Tibetans, for a deal.

So, in spots that just might be appearing in the Sunday's Super Bowl, the company that's possibly worth multibillions of dollars has decided to go for the cut-price jugular.

We don't see do-gooders. We see Cuba Gooding Jr. We also see other stars who are, perhaps, from the cut-price rung of the stardom ladder rather than … Read more

I am desperate to be faithful to people such as my geophysicist masseur, Cory.

So I have so far resisted any of Groupon's enticements, which are sent to me each day by electronic carrier pigeon.

However, after Sunday's big football game, I may change my mind. For I suspect Groupon might provide some of the more entertaining ad fare during the broadcast.

As evidence, might I cite this bizarre piece of footage that Groupon posted to its blog?

The blog declares that this ad is one Groupon rejected in its quest to fill its $3 million big-game ad … Read more

Last week, word of a great offer began to make its way around the Internet. I first heard about the offer--a $20 Amazon gift card for $10--on an e-mail list. Then I saw it on The Huffington Post. Then it started showing up on Twitter. Every few seconds, it seemed, someone new would tweet about it. It was all over Facebook, and people were blogging about it left and right.

If you're fairly new to the group offer space, you probably would have thought that this great deal was coming from Groupon, the superstar start-up that has blown … Read more