Sodastream Ad Yanked in Britain for Angering Coca-Cola and Pepsi

The DIY soda maker was accused of denigrating rivals like Coke and Pepsi in its new ad campaign

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The at-home carbonation product Sodastream has made a splash in the UK with their first global advertising campaign before their ads even had a chance to air. British regulatory authorities yanked an ad for the DIY soda maker deeming it to be too disparaging towards soda manufacturers like Coca Cola and Pepsi.

The controversial 30-second ad, featured above, shows soft drink bottles disappearing as people use their Sodastream soda makers, closing with the line, “With SodaStream you can save 1,000 bottles per year.” The ad was meant to highlight one of the product’s main selling points, which is its environmental sustainability. But Clearcast, the private body jointly funded by British commercial broadcasters that evaluates TV ads, decided that Sodastream’s statements unfairly denigrated the bottled drink market and decided to pull the ad. (It has already aired in the U.S., Australia and Sweden.)

(MORE: Cutting Out Soda Curbs Children’s Weight Gain, Studies Show)

According to AdAge, Sodastream was told that Clearcast’s decision to pull the ad was as follows: “The majority decided that the ad could be seen to tell people not to go to supermarkets and buy soft drinks, [and] instead help to save the environment by buying a SodaStream.” It was also told that the pitch constituted “denigration of the bottled-drinks market,” which, according to the Financial Times, was done visually via the exploding bottles of soft drinks.

Sodastream will appeal the decision at a Clearcast meeting on December 4.

MORE: Pepsi’s Fat-Fighting Soda: Too Good to Be True?
MORE: Soda Makers Will Post Calorie Counts on Vending Machines

The at-home carbonation product Sodastream has made a splash in the UK with their first global advertising campaign before their ads even had a chance to air. British regulatory authorities yanked an ad for the DIY soda maker deeming it to be too disparaging towards soda manufacturers like Coca Cola and Pepsi.

The controversial 30-second ad, featured above, shows soft drink bottles disappearing as people use their Sodastream soda makers, closing with the line, “With SodaStream you can save 1,000 bottles per year.” The ad was meant to highlight one of the product’s main selling points, which is its environmental sustainability. But Clearcast, the private body jointly funded by British commercial broadcasters that evaluates TV ads, decided that Sodastream’s statements unfairly denigrated the bottled drink market and decided to pull the ad. (It has already aired in the U.S., Australia and Sweden.)

(MORE: Cutting Out Soda Curbs Children’s Weight Gain, Studies Show)

According to AdAge, Sodastream was told that Clearcast’s decision to pull the ad was as follows: “The majority decided that the ad could be seen to tell people not to go to supermarkets and buy soft drinks, [and] instead help to save the environment by buying a SodaStream.” It was also told that the pitch constituted “denigration of the bottled-drinks market,” which, according to the Financial Times, was done visually via the exploding bottles of soft drinks.

Sodastream will appeal the decision at a Clearcast meeting on December 4.

MORE: Pepsi’s Fat-Fighting Soda: Too Good to Be True?
MORE: Soda Makers Will Post Calorie Counts on Vending Machines