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ScarJo Is SodaStream’s New Spokesperson

The actress will star in a Super Bowl commercial for the carbonated company

by
Stephanie Butnick
January 14, 2014
Scarlett Johansson. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Scarlett Johansson. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Scarlett Johansson has a new role: spokesperson. The Jewish actress is apparently such a fan of SodaStream, the at-home carbonation system, that she’s signed on to be the Israeli company’s global representative. “The partnership between me and SodaStream is a no brainer. I am beyond thrilled to share my enthusiasm for SodaStream with the world!!” Johansson said in a statement.

ScarJo’s first ad for the company will air during Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, 2014 (their ad for last year’s Super Bowl was rejected for taking shots at competitors Coke and Pepsi; it ended up on YouTube with more than five million views).

Even if you’re not a fan of DIY carbonated water, you’ve likely heard of SodaStream, if not seen it in Bed Bath & Beyond. The company has come under fire from advocates of Israel boycotts for operating a factory in the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. (SodaStreams and their replacement cartridges were one of the handful of products singled out by the BDS debate at Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Coop in 2013.)

How will ScarJo’s penchant for bubbly beverages—and endorsement of the SodaStream system—be received? Probably not without a fizz of backlash.

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.