Scarlett Johansson has finally addresses her involvement with SodaStream after being heavily scrutinised for supporting a company with a factory in an Israeli settlement on West Point.
Super Bowl commercials are some of the most sought after airtime of the television year, as it means millions of people will see your product.
So it must have been a huge blow to SodaStream, makers of a home soda-maker machine, to have their commercial banned by Fox.
The very sexy Scarlett Johansson stars in the new ad, but it wasn’t banned for any provocative or inappropriate content, it was rejected for another reason.
According to USA Today, the commercial was banned because it uttered the words “Sorry, Coke and Pepsi.”
In the commercial, Johansson is in dressing room wearing a bathrobe, she then walks towards a SodaStream product and then makes her own soda. While sucking on a star seductive, she whips off her bathrobe before saying the controversial line, which is considered unsuitable by Fox.
The company’s CEO Daniel Birnbaum said to USA Today, “What are they afraid of? 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.”
Fox and PepsiCo have not commented on the matter, but a spokeswomen for Coca-Cola has said, “I can confirm we did not pressure Fox. Other than that, we don’t comment on our competitors’ efforts.”
Johansson is also receiving a lot of scrutiny for partaking in the ad. SodaStream operates a factory in the Israeli settlement in the West Bank, and as it is a poverty stricken area, it attracts many critics including Oxfam, which the actress is an ambassador for.
Scarlett released a statement to The Huffington Post defending her partnership with the company.
The statement read, “SodaStream is a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbors working alongside each other, receiving equal pay, equal benefits, and equal rights.”
She added, “I believe in conscious consumerism and transparency and I trust that the consumer will make their own educated choice that is right for them.”
Watch the banned commercial below
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