Deal-hunting baby-makers, listen up! The wacky and incrementally expanding discount site Groupon has just launched a new dating service called Grouspawn, with an insane marketing ploy. If you can prove that you used a Groupon coupon on your first date, and that said date eventually resulted in a child, you could get a $60,000 grant for the little one’s college tuition.
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason announced the site and the grant opportunity at TechCrunch Disrupt yesterday. Grouspawn is intended to help singles (or, we guess, philanderers) find mates with whom to use their Groupon deals. Couples will be required to prove that they used a Groupon deal on their first date with evidence including “a photo taken with a newspaper with a date on it, testimonials, credit-card statements, blogs, etc.,” according to the site.
But what if people try to pass off an old baby as a Grouspawn? “Our crack team of nosy researchers will investigate if you have, in fact, gestated a true Grouspawn. This may include talking to friends and family, delving into your personal life, and taking samples of fluids you didn’t even know you had. By the time your spawn turns 18, college will cost a million dollars a second and will be located inside the moon, so it’s worth it.” We totally agree with that last part.
Grouspawn acknowledges that some sleazoids might try to have a child just for the cash, noting on the site that the money “is for your baby, and even though we probably won’t be able to tell if you use it for something else, it would be wrong” to bang for bucks. Still, under one current Grouspawn member’s profile (who may be 100-percent fake), a “perfect match” would include “somebody who will have a pretend baby with me so we can split the 60k prize.”
