It’s all over the web; A “controversial” SodaStream ad, made by Alex Bogusky for the 2013 Super Bowl, has been pulled by CBS. The ad in question directly jabs at the two big players in the beverage industry, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, by calling them out for 500 million bottles wasted on Game Day.
CBS cited the spot as being too competitive against the two beverage giants. However, considering Pepsi’s historical jabs at Coca-Cola, it’s more likely that CBS was trying to appease their larger sponsors.
The general online consensus is that this is a win-win for SodaStream. The CBS rejection means SodaStream gets tons of free impressions off of an otherwise unremarkable advertisement. In fact, they’ve already capitalized on the buzz by introducing a new twitter hashtag: #SodaStreamAd.
But this new hash tag could also have the unintended effect of bubbling-up ongoing grievances against the company. Currently trending along with #SodaStreamAd are comments by activist groups opposed to SodaStream. These groups are upset because SodaStream, an Israeli company, currently produces all of its devices in the West Bank, an area that has been the subject of Israeli-Palestinian conflict for years.
A statement on Activist group CODEPINK’s website says this of the soda company: “SodaStream markets itself as an environmentally friendly product to ‘Turn Water Into Fresh Sparkling Water And Soda’… but there is nothing friendly about the destruction of Palestinian life, land and water resources!”
SodaStream might have to address this controversy if it doesn’t bubble over.
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