SodaStream Ad Controversy: Clip Goes Viral After Super Bowl Rejection

The SodaStream ad you didn’t see is getting a new visibility after a social media thunderstorm over the why of its disinclusion from the advertising world’s biggest night of commercials.

The SodaStream ad debate went viral before the game’s storied spots even hit air, so the dust-up may have been somewhat of an advertising coup for the fledgling soft drink upstart.

It’s easy to see why the SodaStream ad is deemed at least partly controversial, as it squarely takes aim at Goliath soft drink competitors Coke and Pepsi in a clip that portrays a cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative to regular pop.

FastCompany suggests:

“While Super Bowl ads have celebrated points of contention as long as I can remember, apparently CBS didn’t like the idea of stirring the pot among some of its biggest supporters–namely, Coke and Pepsi. The original ad submitted to CBS by SodaStream was blocked due to its direct stab at both of the soda giants and the replacement ad featured generic soda brands in their place.”

The Huffington Post carried a statement on the SodaStream ad controversy from the maker themselves, and a spokesman for SodaStream tells the site:

“SodaStream’s newest spot dubbed ‘Game Changer,’ created specifically for the Super Bowl, was rejected last week by CBS … Because SodaStream is a direct competitor of the Big Soda brands that tend to be ubiquitous during the Super Bowl, the rejection of one of the company’s proposed ads, which takes aim at Big Soda, is perhaps not surprising.”

CBS has not commented on SodaStream’s ad or the allegations. Below is the SodaStream ad you didn’t see during 2013’s Super Bowl.