The Saudi government has hired a law firm to prevent the airing of an advertisement by ethicaloil.org. The advertisement makes the redundantly obvious point that it is better to buy oil from Alberta than an Islamist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic tyranny that would have remained a sand-ridden wasteland populated by antediluvian barbarians had it not been for a Paleozoic accident.

From here:

OTTAWA – Efforts to silence an advertising campaign about Saudi Arabian oil before it re-airs in Canada have succeeded in keeping the ads off of CTV News Channel.

QMI Agency has acquired an e-mail that indicates the broadcaster cancelled a booking for an Ethicaloil.org ad campaign that presents Saudi Arabian oil as an ‘unethical’ energy choice.

“Our position should be that we are in receipt of notice of a legal dispute with respect to this spot and that, accordingly, we will not broadcast the spot until the legal dispute is resolved,” reads the e-mail quoting CTV’s legal department.

The ads have raised the ire of the Saudi government because they equate buying Saudi oil with helping fund a kingdom that oppresses women while presenting Alberta’s oilsands as a more humane alternative.

Sun News Network is still running the ads.

Saudi Arabia’s government has hired a high-powered law firm to get the ads banned. Individual broadcasters have also received warnings not to run the ads.

The Saudis clearly find the advertisement convincing or they would not be exerting themselves to suppress it.