Every year, the Super Bowl attracts some of the best and most high-priced advertising in the world. But it also lures a horde of publicity-seekers claiming their commercials have been censored or rejected by the host network. In nearly all cases, the complaining marketers never really had a shot at the Super Bowl, thanks to shoddy production values, truly objectionable content and, more often than not, the inability to pony up more than $3 million for an ad. And it’s a common occurrence for the network to ask event sponsors to tweak or edit the content for a variety of reasons (which also can yield a PR bonanza if a sponsor cries foul — just ask serial offender GoDaddy.com).
But SodaStream, a mainstream advertiser that some time ago purchased a spot in the game’s fourth quarter, said this wasn’t a PR gambit. So what’s the issue? The content of its planned commercial seemed to have concerned CBS because it was a direct hit at two other Super Bowl sponsors and heavy network TV advertisers: Coke and Pepsi
SodaStream, which sells home soda-making machines, has already run afoul of authorities in the U.K. for a Bogusky-crafted spot indicating its product is more environmentally friendly than established sodas; the spot shows branded bottles and cans of soft drinks exploding into thin air. For the Super Bowl, it hoped to up the ante with a spot depicting truck drivers clad in clothing with Coca-Cola and Pepsi marks on them, according to Ilan Nacasch, SodaStream’s chief marketing officer. “We really tried to comply with the standards” set by CBS, he said. At the same time, he added, “We were taking it to a new level, and that’s the level where they apparently judged to be going too far.” Interestingly enough, Pepsi has scored big points with viewers over the years by showing Super Bowl ads with Coke deliverymen abandoning their employer wholesale for a sip of a Pepsi drink.
The Term Paper on SodaStream Case
Your final writeup should take the form of a business report that includes an executive summary, analysis section, alternative(s) identification, and recommendation(s). Your executive summary should be no more than 2 pages and the analysis, alternatives and recommendation sections should not exceed 8 pages. Your report can be less than 10 pages, but the maximum length of your writeup is 10 ...
Of course, Pepsi (and, for that matter, Coke) buys multiple ads in the Super Bowl each year, as well as spends millions of dollars on other broadcast-TV advertising. Another Super Bowl sponsor, Anheuser-Busch InBev with Pepsi this year for in-store displays and promotions. A CBS spokeswoman said network executives declined to comment. “Bummed,” Mr. Bogusky, famous for his work at CP&B still in the game with an older spot we tweaked.”
