A Super Bowl commercial starring Scarlett Johansson that gets banned by a major network should include gratuitous nudity. Or at least a few F-bombs. Instead, for the second year in a row FOX is banning SodaStream’s 30-second ad because it may hurt the feelings of Coke and Pepsi :(.
Stop snarking, that’s really the reason. Stop laughing! In the spot, Johansson shows the audience how to use the product in three easy steps, claiming the end product is beneficial to the consumer, due to the reduced sugar and the environment since less plastic bottles would be be produced.
“If only I could make this message go viral” she then says in a worrisome tone and disrobes, unveiling a little black dress while she sexily drinks from a straw (if that’s even possible), finally finishing the spot with the words “Sorry, Coke and Pepsi.” There’s a couple lessons to be learned here.
1. NO ONE WOULD MENTION THIS AD IF FOX DIDN’T PULL IT. No one. It’s a remarkably unremarkable commercial. The only reason it’s garnered attention from all over the internet, and gone viral just as pouty Scarlett had wanted, is because FOX removed it from the Super Bowl. Sodastream doesn’t have to pay the millions of dollars for the airtime, and they’re commercial gets shared all over the world.
2. No one is changing their soda loyalties based on a commercial. Especially not to one that you have to make yourself. Americans are lazy by and large. Yes, Sodastream (under pressure to close a factory in the West Bank) had a net income of $43.86 million in 2013. It’s rising, but as of 2012 , just 29% of their sales came from the U.S. Coke and Pepsi are big sponsors of FOX but banning the ad isn’t going to stop Americans from being exposed to the product, especially since it’s available in thousands of Wal-Mart stores across the country.
By pulling the commercial entirely FOX has done the opposite of what they intended. This post wouldn’t exist with it.
