Advertising in Saudi Arabia: Content and Regulation.

This article examines the contents and regulation of advertising in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia plays a key role in the Gulf Co-operation Council, and Arabic/Islamic common market that includes Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. Proponents of standardization argue that universal appeals are feasible because of converging customer preferences resulting from technology, consumer mobility, and international media exposure. Critics of that view emphasize a tailored approach on the premise that environmental factors create significant differences among international consumers. The government of Saudi Arabia promulgates new legislation through royal decrees. The king is considered the protector of the nation and its laws. The commitment of the government to certain causes has influenced the legal system, and areas of particular relevance for advertising include consumer and ecological protection and domestication of business. The Saudi legal system is unique in the sense that it identifies law with the personal command of the one and only God, the Almighty.