The Super Bowl ad of SodaStream International Ltd. (Nasdaq:
SODA) has been rejected for broadcast.
Fox, which is broadcasting this year's
National Football League Final, notified the company that the explicit mention
of Coca Cola and Pepsi was the reason for the disqualification.
SodaStream's team which prepared the ad said that Fox wants
it to delete the sentence in which the company's presenter Scarlett Johansson
says, "Sorry Coke and Pepsi."
Last year too, SodaStream's Super Bowl ad was disqualified,
after it showed exploding Coca Cola and Pepsi bottles. In response to that
disqualification, the company aired a softened ad, and this may be solution
this year as well.
Alex Bogusky, who helped create the ad, told "USA
Today" that SodaStream's two big competitive advantages are "less
bottles in the trash and less sugar in the soda." He was referring to the
company's advertising campaign that focuses on the creation of sugarless
carbonated beverages and the saving of plastic bottles.
A furious SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said in response to
the disqualification, "If I could ask for my money back, I'd be happy to
cancel the deal."
Birnbaum's remark has to be taken with a grain of salt,
given that the disqualification creates public relations and advertising that
SodaStream probably could not have achieved through an ordinary ad that was not
disqualified.
Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson is at the center of criticism
from various parties for serving as a presenter of an Israeli company. The
heart of the criticism is the fact that SodaStream also operates in the West
Bank, implying that Johansson supports Israeli policy in the territory.
In a statement published by "The Huffington Post",
Johansson says, "While I never intended on being the face of any social or
political movement, distinction, separation or stance as part of my affiliation
with SodaStream, given the amount of noise surrounding that decision, I'd like
to clear the air.
"I remain a supporter of economic cooperation and
social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine.
SodaStream is a
company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge
to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbors working alongside
each other, receiving equal pay, equal benefits and equal rights. That is what
is happening in their Ma’ale Adumim factory every working day."
Johansson adds, "I believe in conscious consumerism and
transparency and I trust that the consumer will make their own educated choice
that is right for them.
I stand behind the SodaStream product… Even though it
is a side effect of representing SodaStream, I am happy that light is being
shed on this issue in hopes that a greater number of voices will contribute to
the conversation of a peaceful two state solution in the near future."
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