Here’s the Video Groupon Wants You to Watch About Its Important New Feature

Groupon just launched a new way for its customers to see the offers they want the most.

And while the Chicago company is notoriously quirky, the video that describes the new feature is neither quirky-funny nor quirky-smart. It’s just kind of … boring.

I don’t suppose they could’ve allocated a bigger budget, or even supplied a costume change or a second venue. That would be ridiculous.

But two Groupon product team members in front of a whiteboard captured by a shaky video camera? That’s just a tad unimaginative for a company that has a CEO who doesn’t mind having a cat on his head.

And, since Groupon just padded its wallet by $700 million in last week’s IPO, it clearly has the dough to do better.

If you can get past the video — and I eventually will — the product is actually important because it could reduce what critics are calling “deal fatigue.”

Deal Types and Places tries to match the right deals up to the right people. Like fewer bikini waxes for men and more restaurant offers for foodies.

On Groupon’s homepage for your local town, you’ll now be able to mark as favorite specific categories, like “Adrenaline,” “Healthy Living,” “Pampered,” or “Good for gifting,” to get more offers that you might actually want. Deal Types and Places allows you to add your work and home addresses as well as cities you travel to often, so you get relevant offers near home and abroad.

If that’s not clear enough, Groupon Product Team members Jeff Long and Suneel Gupta describe it on the video:

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Another gadget you don’t really need. Will not work once you get it home. New model out in 4 weeks. Battery life is too short to be of any use.

— From the fact sheet for a fake product entitled Useless Plasticbox 1.2 (an actual empty plastic box) placed in L.A.-area Best Buy stores by an artist called Plastic Jesus