General

Well, that about wraps it up for Oily

UPDATE – Wells has the details of the contract – which does exist, although it is between the Conservatives and Retail Media Inc., Fuelcast and Retail Media Inc., which, presumably, would have bought the ads on behalf of its client, and which apparently was informed by Fuelcast this morning that the network doesn’t run political ads.

In a curious confluence of events, it was Retail Media Inc. that disassociated itself from certain receipts that the Conservative Party claimed had been submitted for regional ad buys.

From the Globe and Mail:


For instance, one invoice in the amount of $39,999.91, filed on behalf of Steve Halicki, candidate for the Ontario riding of York South-Weston, was on Retail Media letterhead, the affidavit states.

When executives with the company were shown the invoice, one said “the invoice must have been altered or created by someone, because it did not conform to the appearance of invoices sent by Retail Media to the Conservative Party of Canada with respect to the media buy,” the affidavit states.

Will Oily be freed from the bonds of video screen advertising, to live out the rest of his days as a virtual spokesblob on the campaign website? Or will the Conservatives force Fuelcast to air party ads against its will? Tune in tomorrow! Or possibly later tonight.

From the latest CTV update:

[…]Fuelcast, the company that operates the ad system, said Monday it won’t run the Conservative ads at the pumps because it has a policy against political advertising.

So — how ’bout those radio ads? Anyone heard one of those? Please tell me some part of this campaign will involve exchanging currency for broadcasting services, rather than relying entirely on freebie airings in the guise of news coverage?

UPDATE: Or does it?

Via Canadian Press (link to come):


Novel Tory attack ads against Stephane Dion’s carbon tax may
never be seen by Canadian drivers as they fill up their gas tanks.

The Tories unveiled the so-called `fuelcast’ ads Sunday, which were
supposed to start airing on video screens set up at gas pumps in and
around Toronto.

But Fuelcast Network – the only company in the gas pump TV business in
Canada – says it has a policy against broadcasting political ads.

However, Tory spokesman Ryan Sparrow says the party has a binding
agreement with Fuelcast to show the ads and expects the contract to be
honoured.

Would this be the same sort of binding agreement that, just a few hours ago, he claimed was the subject of a misquote by CanWest News?

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