SodaStream - PRNewser

SodaStream Super Bowl Ad Rejected for Picking on Big Soda Brands

Elizabeth S. Mitchell — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:44:06 +0000

We recently told you about SodaStream‘s clever ad being pulled for “denigrating” the bottled drinks market — or, as we saw it, being a little too effective at competing with Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Now, SodaStream’s newest spot, dubbed “Game Changer” and created specifically for the Super Bowl, has been rejected by CBS for similar reasons.

Because SodaStream is a direct competitor of the Big Soda brands that tend to be omnipresent during the Super Bowl — and because the proposed ad isn’t shy about taking direct aim at those brands — even the company itself isn’t surprised “Game Changer” was rejected.

CMO of SodaStream International Ilan Nacasch said in a release, “We understand that the ‘Game Changer’ 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.”

That “truth,” according to CEO Daniel Birnbaum, is that “500 million bottles and cans are manufactured every day in the U.S and less than 50% are recycled, causing untold damage to our environment…Our ad confronts the beverage industry…by showing people that there exists a smarter way to enjoy soft drinks.”

A cool product with a save-the-world angle? No wonder the big brands are a little nervous. The rejected ad will air internationally beginning next week (but you, lucky readers, can watch it now below).

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PR Win: New SodaStream Spot Defies Ad Censors

Patrick Coffee — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:11:14 +0000

Last week we reported on a great ad by SodaStream, the masters of DIY carbonation. While we find the concept of homemade soda fascinating, we were mostly concerned with UK ad regulatory body Clearcast‘s decision to take the ad off the air for potentially offending the hyper-sensitive small business owners Coca-Cola and Pepsico. Won’t someone think of the little guys?

Anyway, today brings encouraging news: Instead of admitting defeat and slinking off to pout in a corner, SodaStream’s communications team decided to make the most of the ongoing “debate” by airing a second spot called “Bubble Blackout” that consists of a black screen featuring the words “if you love the bubbles, set them free” atop the first ad’s audio. The video concludes with a link allowing viewers to defy the ban by viewing the offending spot on YouTube.

Click the screenshot to check out the new spot:

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UK Authorities Axe Another Good Ad

Patrick Coffee — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:40:42 +0000

Yesterday we reported on UK advertising authority Clearcast’s decision to pull an excellent SodaStream spot for “denigrating” major soda brands whose products don’t even appear in the ad. Today brings another story of a regulatory group killing a clever campaign, and we have to ask: have British people always been such irrational buzzkills?

Here’s the ad for travel metasearch engine Kayak:

The Advertising Standards Authority received more than 400 complaints about this video and decided to kill the obviously satirical spot “because it was too upsetting to individuals who have undergone brain surgery, and their families.”

OK, full disclosure: Your editor is one of those people who’ve undergone major brain surgery–and he does not find anything about this ad to be particularly offensive. It’s not like Kayak’s creative agency made a mockery of an entire culture or anything like that.

What gives? At what point do advertising and PR pros have to be intentionally boring in order to avoid ruffling a few feathers? Do our industries really have a creativity problem?

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‘SodaStream’ Ad Pulled in UK (For Being Effective?)

Elizabeth S. Mitchell — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:54:26 +0000

If you’ve been watching TV in the US over the past several days, you may have seen this new ad for SodaStream, a device that allows bubble-lovers to create their own soft drinks at home, thereby saving both money and bottles.

Personally, we found the 30-second spot created by Alex Bogusky clever and visually appealing. Authorities in the UK pulled the commercial, however, citing their own opinion that it “could be seen to tell people not to go to supermarkets and buy soft drinks, [and] instead help to save the environment by buying a SodaStream”. This message, they determined, could be seen as “denigration of the bottled-drinks market”. Um…gee, a commercial that encourages customers to ditch the competition in favor of the product it’s pushing? Witchcraft!

OK…so what’s the problem?

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