Cola Wars: Rejected SodaStream Ad Now On-Line

Cola Wars: Rejected SodaStream
         Ad Now On-Line                                                                 
by CNNMoney, February 4, 2013

The SodaStream commercial that was set to air on Super Bowl Sunday was banned by the CBS television network because they said it attacked the two big name soda companies of Pepsi and Coke. CBS’ argument was based on Pepsi and Coke being CBS’ biggest sponsors during the Super Bowl. Pepsico sponsored this year’s half-time show and will air ads during commercial breaks, as will Coke.
In the now controversial SodaStream commercial, a Pepsi product’s deliveryman comes face-to-face with a Coke deliveryman in the parking lot of a Supermarket, both on a mission to stock the shelves first. In their rush, the bottles burst and spray the soda everywhere and create a mess. Then, a narrator’s voice is heard touting the SodaStream product, detailing that if the consumer had just used their product they would have saved 500 million bottles from being discarded on Super Bowl Sunday alone.
“Our ad confronts the beverage industry and its arguably outdated business model,” SodaStream’s CEO Daniel Birnbaum said in a statement. “One day we will look back on plastic soda bottles the way we now view cigarettes.”
Birnbaum knows that their product gives an alternative to using plastic bottles. The use of plastics has become an environmental concern and a product like the SodaStream would be eco-friendly. But CBS still said no to airing the commercial.
In general, television spots for a 30-second ad during the SuperBowl costs a company a record high of 4 million dollars and they are willing to pay it. Many viewers who tune in have made the day a yearly past-time even if they are not interested in the game itself. These television ads become quite lucrative for a company selling its product or idea because the ad will be replayed over and over again the days after it airs. Many are funny and entertaining and usually are voted on by the viewers as to which of the commercials was the best or worst. Some ads, from BudLight to PETA have been banned in the past but became a win for the companies because of they were posted on-line for millions to see. SodaStream is no different and has posted their ad on YouTube under the headline, “Watch the SodaStream commercial they wouldn’t let you see during the big game.” The ad has received 2 million views even though it was banned from the Sunday Super Bowl. “We understand that the…ad may be uncomfortable to the big soda companies, but we are proud of the ad and the truth that it brings to the American consumer,” Ilan Nacasch, SodaStream’s chief marketing officer, said. SodaStream took on these soda giants and not only got their product message effectively delivered to the public but the controversy surrounding the ad being banned, backfired on CBS, Pepsico and Coke.
CBS did not respond to requests to comment on the story. Pepsi and Coke also did not return requests.
http://wtvr.com/2013/02/04/cola-wars-rejected-sodastream-ad-now-online/