When it comes to the Super Bowl, I typically watch solely to see who will spark the next big controversy. Whether there’s “accidental” nudity in the halftime show, or a commercial that’s a little too risqué, year to year this has never failed and the media continue to swarm the event.

This year, one advertiser in particular has hit a nerve in the American public: Groupon, which ran a set of ads during the Super Bowl that spoofed humanitarian commercials to show consumers how they can save money. My colleague Juliana also wrote about this ad series on PR Nonsense earlier in the week.

The ads have generated outrage on Twitter and on Groupon’s discussion board, and the majority of news published regarding the Super Bowl in the past couple days has referenced these bold commercials.

Groupon claims the ads are done as a spoof and not meant to be taken seriously, and has even chosen various charities to highlight on their webpage that work towards each of the causes being mentioned.  Many people disagree, though, and say that the campaign was pointless and inane.

However, looking at this purely from a PR/marketing angle, it is interesting to consider the implications of Groupon’s campaign.  Is all publicity good publicity? If so, then Groupon sure is getting a large amount of publicity.  Some have threatened to cancel their accounts, but the millions of people that had never heard of Groupon are now seeing it on the homepage of their favorite newspapers.

What do you think?  Will millions flock to Groupon or be offended and purposefully never become a member?

Photo courtesy of All Things D.