SodaStream Boss: 'We Made a Mistake' on the Johansson Super Bowl Spot

Trade publication Campaign UK published an interview this month in which SodaStream's CEO admitted the company "made a mistake spending millions of dollars on a Super Bowl commercial" featuring Scarlett Johansson ... twelve years after the ad was banned for mocking Coke and Pepsi, and after Johansson quit Oxfam to keep the deal.

The ad was called "Sorry, Coke and Pepsi." Fox Network refused to air the uncensored version because it directly called out Pepsi by name, per NBC News: Pepsi sponsored the halftime show. SodaStream stripped the competitive line and ran a modified version anyway.

CEO Daniel Birnbaum was not sorry at the time. He called the ban "un-American," telling the Times of Israel: "Which advertiser in America doesn't mention a competitor? This is the kind of stuff that happens in China."

The controversy nobody planned

Johansson had been an Oxfam ambassador for eight years when SodaStream signed her. Oxfam's position was direct: companies in Israeli settlements "further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities," per The Wrap. SodaStream operated a factory at Mishor Adumim in the West Bank.

She quit Oxfam rather than drop the deal. Her spokesman told NBC News: "She and Oxfam have a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement." Oxfam accepted the resignation and thanked her for eight years of collaboration.

FandomWire covered her position in full: "I was aware of that particular factory before I signed. And it still doesn't seem like a problem." No apology. No regret.

What the CEO is actually sorry about

The 2026 admission is narrower than it reads. Per Campaign UK, Birnbaum now says the brand should have focused on water rather than attacking Coke and Pepsi, because consumers were looking for ways to drink more water, not a soda war. That is a product-messaging critique.

SodaStream deliberately engineered the Fox ban. A tagline that directly called out two of the network's biggest advertisers was not an oversight. The "Sorry, Coke and Pepsi" line was designed to get rejected, go viral, and generate earned media worth more than the airtime. That part worked. CBS had already banned a 2013 SodaStream spot on the same grounds, so the playbook was proven.

What the strategy did not model was the second-order controversy. Hiring a celebrity with an active humanitarian ambassadorship to a politically sensitive company means buying the values friction that comes with her. The Oxfam story ran for weeks and reframed the brand from "cheeky carbonation startup" to "West Bank factory operator." The CEO is sorry about the tagline. The real lesson was in the casting.

Brands that add celebrity credibility also add celebrity baggage. Due diligence on a global ambassador means mapping what her existing public commitments say about your brand when the backlash cycle starts. SodaStream learned that in January 2014. It took until 2026 to say so out loud.

SodaStream did not respond to a request for comment on this piece. Johansson's representatives have not publicly addressed the CEO's 2026 remarks.

Ad Watch News is an independent commentary site. No affiliation with Scarlett Johansson, SodaStream, Oxfam, Fox Network, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or any party named here. This piece draws on published sources listed below.

The case became a staple of advertising ethics courses within a year of the controversy. As celebrity endorsement scandals cycle back through the headlines, it keeps finding a new class.

SodaStream Boss: 'We Made a Mistake' on the Johansson Super Bowl Spot

The controversy nobody planned

What the CEO is actually sorry about

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