Saudis

contentious stereotyped rhetorical

The Saudis emerge as a collective reference in a Roosevelt Room ad strategy session, symbolizing foreign oil dependency. Will pitches a soccer mom towing a Saudi oil rig to highlight energy burdens. Shelby escalates to 'hauling actual Saudis,' prompting Will's immediate rejection to sidestep offensive territory. This exchange reveals the comms team's appetite for bold humor and Will's gatekeeping on political risks amid broader messaging debates.

4 appearances

Also known as: actual Saudis

Saudis's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

4 moments

S4E21 · Life on Mars

Brainstorm Backfire: 'Saudis' Joke Tests the Room

Not an emotional actor in the room but functionally placed as a potential scapegoat; their invocation creates ethical tension.

Referenced as both the origin of the oil rig (adjective: 'Saudi oil rig') and, controversially, as the literal object of a gag ('hauling actual Saudis') proposed by Shelby and immediately …

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S4E21 · Life on Mars

Chin's Lunch Breaks the Tension

Not present as agents; their invocation carries the risk of reducing a nationality to a punchline and creating potential backlash.

The 'Saudis' are invoked as the target and symbol within the pitched gag — first as the nation tied to an oil rig and then alarmingly as people in Shelby's …

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S4E21 · Life on Mars

Gas‑Mask Shock and the 'Clear Blue Sky' Pivot

Not personally emotional — used as a provocative rhetorical device that makes some in the room uncomfortable.

Referenced as part of an alternate, edgy conceit — 'the family's towing Saudis in a U‑Haul' — invoked to illustrate the team's flirtation with provocative, potentially offensive imagery during brainstorms.

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S4E21 · Life on Mars

Toby's Moral Rebuke and the Abrupt Exit

Not emotional — serves as a conceptual shorthand that provokes laughter and shock in the room.

Invoked as a provocative metaphor — the pitch includes a variant where a family tows 'Saudis' in a U-Haul; the reference escalates the ad's offensiveness and tests boundaries.

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