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Under the Influence

Supercuts offered its haters a real dumb coupon

Supercuts took negative comments about cheap haircuts and created a real smart advertising campaign.
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Supercuts coupon – made in response to its haters – that reads, "Add $50, Real Dumb Coupon."
Supercuts took negative comments about cheap haircuts and created a real smart advertising campaign. (YouTube (Supercuts))
Under the Influence27:26Hug the Cactus: Advertising to Haters

The pandemic changed so many things in our lives, and some of those changes are surprising.

For example, hair salons and barbers suffered. And not just because nobody was going out for haircuts during the lockdown. The problem is that people got used to wearing longer hair during lockdown, and a good percentage got used to cutting their own hair. That wasn't good news for companies like Supercuts.

It had 2,282 locations a few years ago, and is down to 1,949 now. Even though Supercuts offers a cheap haircut in a world of $75 haircuts, it still has to fight for business. As the marketing director says, a lot of people think Supercuts is a "bargain basement chop shop." And he says that just isn't so. He says there is a stark gap between the negative views of non-customers, and the glowing reviews of actual customers.

The company says their chain averages a 4.8-star rating on Google, but the problem is men, who make up 65 per cent of Supercuts customers, don't tend to discuss their choice of salon with buddies. So word of mouth is low, but hater chatter is high.

It seems that when people think bad haircuts, they think Supercuts. One hater posted: "Supercuts is cheap because you pay with your dignity." So Supercuts has decided to lean into their haters with a brand-new campaign. Rather than ignore the haters, Supercuts decided to have fun with them. Because so much of the criticism is aimed at how cheap Supercuts is, the chain decided to issue a "Real Dumb Coupon."

The coupon adds $50 to the price of a Supercuts haircut.

Supercuts produced a video starring their marketing director, and he takes on the haters head-to-head. When one hater said, "Supercuts has gotta be money laundering, because who goes there?" The Supercuts response was:

While the reverse vanity coupon is silly, it's based on a fundamental truth – that non-customers think Supercuts is too cheap to be good. As the video says, if you feel the urge to spend more than you need to on a haircut, why not do it at Supercuts.

By being outrageous in their marketing, Supercuts hopes the "Real Dumb Coupon" will cut through and make haters smile, and maybe re-evaluate their opinion of the chain.

For more stories about Advertising To Haters, click or tap the play button above to hear the full episode of Under the Influence. Find more episodes on the CBC Listen app or subscribe to the podcast.