When actress Scarlett Johansson signed on as spokesperson for the Israeli company SodaStream in January, a P.R. battle of epic proportions erupted. Supporters of BDS pressured her to step down because the company has a factory in the West Bank, and Israel advocates urged her to stay on, citing the company’s favorable standing with its Palestinian employees and commitment to “doing the right thing and helping people.”

The upshot: Johansson stuck by SodaStream and ended her eight-year relationship with the charity Oxfam, which opposes trade from Israeli settlements.

Now the actress has spoken out in support of SodaStream, highlighting their environmental credentials and assiduously steering clear of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

“I’m not an expert on the history of this conflict, and I’ve never professed to be. But it is a company that I believe in, that I think has the ability to make a huge difference, environmentally. [SodaStream’s CEO] Daniel Birnbaum has said many times that this factory is one he inherited, and that he doesn’t want to fire people – the majority of those people being Palestinian.”

Johansson has been quietly but firmly reiterating this stance since the controversy first erupted in January, but this is her most lengthy statement yet. In the lead-up to her appearance in SodaStream’s Super Bowl commercial, she told the Huffington Post that the company was “building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine.” And in an interview with Dazed Magazine in February, she alluded to her discomfort with her default position a “role model,” saying she “never wanted to step into those shoes.”

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Scarlett Johansson’s controversial SodaStream ad made its official debut, and—politics aside—it was kind of… uninspiring. Here’s the uncensored version with a shout-out to Coke and Pepsi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxq4ziu-wrI

The hotly anticipated Seinfeld reunion turned out to be an ad for Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Others thought it was meh; I thought it was kind of cute. (The subversive master-bathroom sneak is a particular pleasure of mine. (TMI?))

The main takeaway here? Seinfeld is rich beyond compare if he can afford a Super Bowl ad slot. (But I guess we already knew that.) Also, Wayne Knight and Jason Alexander look exactly like they did in 1998, minus a bit of hair. What is their fountain of youth?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhmpTxLhqzU

The Coke ad was culturally diverse and surprisingly lovely, and featured two guys wearing kippot (at 0:34). It goes without saying, but don’t read the (racist) comments:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8iM73E6JP8

Our favorite? The trailer for Noah, which looks awesome and thrilling and a little bit ridiculous and unlike anything we learned in Hebrew school:

The post Scarlett Johansson’s Super Bowl SodaStream Debut Is Official appeared first on Jewcy.

Scarlett Johansson is the new face of SodaStream! The Jewish actress has officially signed on as the first-ever global spokesperson for the at-home carbonation system, and will star in its upcoming Superbowl ad.

So, why is ScarJo, a relatively non-main stream actress, pursuing the path to carbonation? Simply because she loves SodaStream.

“I’ve been using Sodastream for five or six years. It’s a product I found on my own, just because I love carbonated water, but I hated the waste of bottles,” she says in a behind-the-scenes clip for the commercial.

Johansson’s first ad for the Israeli-based company will air during Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2, 2014.

Her favorite flavors? Dr. Pete, the Ginger Ale, and the Orange Soda (my favorite). If ScarJo has it her way, you’ll be off to purchase your very own SodaStream post-Super Bowl. But if you’re throwing a party, get it before–you’ll never run out of beverages!

(Photo by Getty)

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