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Coke And Pepsi Trigger 'Ban' Of Scarlett Johansson's SodaStream Super Bowl Ad

Aaron Taube   

Coke And Pepsi Trigger 'Ban' Of Scarlett Johansson's SodaStream Super Bowl Ad
Advertising1 min read

Scarlet Johansson SodaStream Super Bowl banned ad

YouTube/SodaStreamGuru

Scarlett Johansson for SodaStream.

Though actress Scarlett Johansson removes her bathrobe in sultry fashion in a YouTube video released Monday by SodaStream, that's not the reason Fox rejected the ad from appearing at this year's Super Bowl.

In fact, Johansson's offense came in the form of four words spoken at the tail end of the Israeli soda kit company's 30-second ad: "Sorry, Coke and Pepsi."

As was the case last year, SodaStream's first attempt at a Super Bowl commercial was rejected for taking aim at two of the game's biggest, most consistent advertisers.

Here's this year's "banned" ad, in which Johansson talks up SodaStream's healthier product and shows off a flattering, albeit entirely tame, blue dress.

The banned Super Bowl ad has become something of an annual tradition at this point, with smaller brands like GoDaddy and PETA submitting spots that a skeptical observer might suggest they knew would be rejected by the networks. This allows them to then post the ad on the internet and drum up interest through media coverage of the "banning."

Nonetheless, SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum expressed his outrage in an interview with USA Today, asking the publication: "Which advertiser in America doesn't mention a competitor? This is the kind of stuff that happens in China. I'm disappointed as an American."

A disgruntled Birnbaum told USA Today he would drop the line about Coke and Pepsi, and a Coca-Cola spokesperson told the publication that the company did not pressure Fox into rejecting the ad.

The ad was produced by the agency Humanaut, and featured creative input from CP+B co-founder Alex Bogusky, who also created last year's banned ad.

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