(PCM) Recent reports are claiming that FOX is forcing the D.I.Y soda company SodaStream to censor it’s upcoming Super Bowl ad featuring Scarlett Johansson because they were unhappy with one particular phrase in the commercial that digs at competitors Coke and Pepsi.
The commercial which features Johansoon seductively strolling around sharing all the pro’s of SodaStream and being able to make your own soda a home before whispering the words at the end of the commercial that left FOX up-in-arms saying “Sorry, Coke and Pepsi”. The commercial has since be re-cut and an alternate ending with Johansson saying “I just love helping people” instead.
While FOX has yet to comment on the situation, many feel that because both Coke and Pepsi are huge advertisers for the Super Bowl and the network that there may have been some pressure from those companies to have the ad rejected. The CEO of SodaStream Daniel Birnbaum was outraged over the situation and asked “What are they afraid of? Which advertiser in America doesn’t mention the competition?”
The company goes not to claim that the ending of the ad was not meant to be a publicity stunt but rather to play up the humor of the ad and educate people on the alternatives to major soda bottling companies.
Also, further stirring up the controversy, Johansson has just resigned from her position as global ambassador for OxFam claiming the two had a “fundamental difference of opinion”. The organization said Johansson’s support of an Israeli company operating in a West Bank settlement was incompatible with her role as an Oxfam Global Ambassador.
Pro-Palestinian activists who advocate consumer boycotts of goods produced in Jewish settlements, which are deemed illegal by much of the international community, have encouraged the public to shun SodaStream.
SodaStream’s main plant is in an Israeli industrial zone next to the settlement of Maaleh Adumim in the West Bank.
This is not the first time that SodaStream has had an ad rejected from the Super Bowl, last year the company’s ad which featured Coke and Pepsi trucks was rejected as well. You can watch the rejected ad uncensored below! This controversy may have been better for SodaStream than actually airing the ad, as it has already surpassed over 3 million views on YouTube.