For the second year running, SodaStream has managed to rile Pepsi and Coca-Cola with its Super Bowl ad, and get it banned.
The ad stars recently signed global ambassador Scarlett Johansson. But it's not her sultry undressing that caused the problem, but the four words she closes the ad with: “Sorry Coke and Pepsi”.
SodaStream has been deploying the classic challenger strategy since its global relaunch. Its ads have been banned in the US and the UK, although the ads were cleared here. The 2014 Super Bowl ad, created by Humanaut and CP+B founder Alex Bogusky, will still air, but the offending line will be redacted by the powers that be.
SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum told USA Today the banning of the ad was the kind of decision you'd expect in the land of the free. He implied the decision was taken after pressure from Coke and Pepsi – two of the biggest Super Bowl advertisers.
“Which advertiser in America doesn’t mention a competitor? This is the kind of stuff that happens in China. I’m disappointed as an American,” he said.
Meanwhile, Audi's Super Bowl offering brings to life the most ridiculous canine of increasingly ridiculously monikered cross breeds. The Doberhuahua, a cross between a Doberman and Chuihuahua puts the bark into its its activity that entwines TV with Snapchat and Twitter.
The ad is designed to espouse the danger of compromise, in line with Audi's 'Designed without compromise' strap line. It tells the story of a couple - he wants a Chihuahua , she wants a Doberman – compromising with a Doberhuahua, a tiny dog with a giant head and bad attitude. It ends with the dog wreaking havoc and the moral that compromise is not a good thing.
Coca-Cola plans to air two ads during this year's Super Bowl and is featuring a team that isn't even in the game. To House of Pain's Jump Around, the ad tells the tale of an American high school football player who overcomes adversity and makes it as one of the Green Bay Packers.
Coke isn't revealing the details of the second ad ahead of the game.
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