EDMONTON - A billboard company won't say why a Greenpeace ad touting solar energy over oil spills was rejected.

The proposed billboard for downtown Edmonton featured the text: "When there is a huge solar energy spill it's just called a nice day. Green jobs, not more oil spills." The words were set against an orange background with no photos or artwork:

greenpeace solar ad oil spills

"It was a fairly light-hearted ad in my opinion," said Greenpeace spokesman Mike Hudema. "To me it was a fairly gentle message, but for some reason beyond my comprehension, it's a message that Pattison has rejected."

Though it was not mentioned specifically, Hudema said the billboard ad was timed to be put up after a high-profile oil spill that fouled the shoreline of the Red Deer River earlier this month near Sundre, Alta.

Greenpeace said it was told by Pattison Outdoor on June 13 that it could have a billboard at Jasper Avenue and 106th Street, not far from the Alberta legislature. The cost was $2,800 and the ad was to run for one month.

Two days later, however, Greenpeace was told the artwork had not been approved. Followup with the company didn't yield any further explanation.

Pattison vice-president Joe Donaldson refused to comment when contacted by The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

"Pattison's official statement is no comment," Donaldson said. "No comment, period."

Hudema said he is not aware of any policies Pattison has that prevent political or advocacy messaging on its board.

He said Greenpeace ran a billboard with the company in 2009 about the cod industry.

He believes the company was afraid of offending oil industry advertisers by running a Greenpeace ad.

"When you start to question the oil industry in any way or promote an alternative industry, that is a message that Pattison, for some reason, do not want people to see," he said.

"Apparently it was too controversial for them."

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  • Activists from the environmental group G

    Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace display posters demanding global fastfood chain KFC to stop Indonesian forest destruction during a protest staged outside a KFC outlet in Semarang in Central Java province on June 16, 2012. Greenpeace accused KFC of using paper packaging made using wood from Indonesian rainforests which it said was endangering the habitat of the Sumatran tiger. SETIAWAN/AFP/GettyImages

  • Activists from environmental group Green

    Activists from environmental group Greenpeace dressed in Sumatran tiger costume demands global fastfood chain KFC to stop Indonesian forest destruction during a protest staged inside a KFC outlet in Semarang in Central Java province on June 16, 2012. Greenpeace accuse KFC of using paper packaging made using wood from Indonesian rainforests which it said was endangering the habitat of the Sumatran tiger. SETIAWAN/AFP/GettyImages

  • Brazilian indigenous Xavantes dance in f

    Brazilian indigenous Xavantes dance in front of Greenpeace's flagship Rainbow Warrior 3 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 19, 2012, in the sidelines of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. Greenpeace meets the Xavantes to support the indigenous on their fight to recover their Maraiwatsede (Virgin Land) reserve. ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/GettyImages

  • Brazilian indigenous Xavante chief Damia

    Brazilian indigenous Xavante chief Damiao waves after speaking on the occupation of their lands, inside Greenpeace's flagship Rainbow Warrior 3 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 19, 2012, in the sidelines of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. Greenpeace meets the Xavantes to support them on their fight to recover their Maraiwatsede (Virgin Land) reserve. ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/GettyImages

  • Greenpeace activists block the access to

    Greenpeace activists block the access to the Council building in Luxembourg during an Agriculture, fisheries and food council, on June 12, 2012. The agreement between ministers could derail any chance of achieving worthwhile improvements to EU fishing rules under a once-in-a-decade reform Greenpeace said. Activist locked themselves to heavy obstacle including fishing buoys and oversized fish bone,on June 12, 2012 at the Kirchberg conference center in Luxembourg. Ministers are expected to adopt a general approach regarding two proposals for regulations in the framework of the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP); on the basic provisions of the CFP; and on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products. The Council will also take note of a progress report from the Presidency on a proposal for a regulation on the European maritime and fisheries fund. GEORGES GOBET/AFP/GettyImages

  • Greenpeace activists block the access to

    Greenpeace activists block the access to the Council building in Luxembourg during an Agriculture, fisheries and food council, on June 12, 2012. The agreement between ministers could derail any chance of achieving worthwhile improvements to EU fishing rules under a once-in-a-decade reform Greenpeace said. Activist locked themselves to heavy obstacle including fishing buoys and oversized fish bone,on June 12, 2012 at the Kirchberg conference center in Luxembourg. Ministers are expected to adopt a general approach regarding two proposals for regulations in the framework of the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP); on the basic provisions of the CFP; and on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products. The Council will also take note of a progress report from the Presidency on a proposal for a regulation on the European maritime and fisheries fund. GEORGES GOBET/AFP/GettyImages

  • FILE - In this June 4, 2012 file photo, Greenpeace activists pose for pictures with signs that read in Spanish "Save Cabo Pulmo" as they protest plans to build a resort in Cabo Pulmo, on Mexico's Baja California peninsula, outside the National Palace in Mexico City. MexicoÂ's president has announced on Friday, June 15, 2012 the cancellation of provisional permits for an enormous, Cancun-sized resort planned for the Baja California shoreline in front of a protected coral reef, citing the Cabo Pulmo reef is the only coral reef in the Gulf of California, and as such merits special care and protection. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)

  • Lucy Lawless

    FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2012 file photo provided by Greenpeace, actress Lucy Lawless joins activists in stopping a Shell-contracted drillship from departing the port of Taranaki, New Zealand. Lawless says she has "no regrets" for boarding a ship in a protest action which on Thursday, June 14, 2012 resulted in her pleading guilty to trespass charges. AP Photo/Greenpeace, File

  • In this photo taken Tuesday May 2, 2012, provided by Greenpeace an activist in a motorized paraglider flies over the Bugey nuclear power plant, near Saint-Vulbas, central France, and drops a flare on the roof. The activist has been arrested after staging a dramatic aerial protest at the nuclear plant. Greenpeace nuclear spokesman, Yannick Rousselet told The Associated Press that the incident was to "highlight the vulnerability of nuclear sites and the importance of the debate on nuclear energy, 4 days before the presidential elections." AP Photo/Lagazta, Greenpeace

  • An Indonesian Greenpeace activist wearing a tiger suit looks up while participating in a protest to call for Sumatran tiger protection at the Forestry Ministry in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Dozens of activists staged the protest demanding the government to investigate illegal practices such as cutting down natural forests conducted by pulp and paper companies that will lead to the destruction of the Sumatran tiger's habitat. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

  • Nordic activists from environment group Greenpeace demonstrate in the port of Helsinki, Finland on Friday March 16, 2012. Greenpeace activists have boarded two Finnish icebreakers in Helsinki to protest oil and gas exploration in the Arctic Ocean. Some 17 demonstrators boarded the icebreakers while others clambered onto cranes with banners demanding that Shell Oil Co. suspend plans to drill in the fragile northern waters. AP Photo/Lehtikuva/Markku Ulander

  • Members of Greenpeace watch a fire lantern near the Amman Citadel to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Sunday, March 11, 2012 in Amman, Jordan. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)

  • Greenpeace activists in protective suits stage a die-in during an anti-nuclear protest commemorating last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan that set off Fukushima nuclear crisis, at the office of Indonesian Ministry of Research and Technology in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, March 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

  • Greenpeace activists lock themselves up into a Volkswagen Up model as they protest at the 90th Brussels Motor Show in Brussels, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. Dozens of activists dressed as polar bears invaded one of Europe's top car shows to highlight climate-wrecking EU lobbying by car giant Volkswagen. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)



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  • June 18, 2012 -- Elk Point

    Enbridge Inc.'s <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/19/enbridge-elk-point-spill-_n_1610613.html" target="_hplink">Athabasca pipeline leaked an estimated 230,000 litres of oil</a> about 24 kilometres southeast of Elk Point, Alberta. <br></br> A member of Greenpeace cleans up a mock oil spill outside the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline office in downtown Vancouver, Wednesday, June 13, 2012. The mock spill was set up by Greenpeace to show the risks of spills similar to the recent one outside of Red Deer, Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

  • June 18, 2012 -- Elk Point

    Although the spill didn't leak into any waterways, Energy Resources Conservation Board's Darin Barter said the<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/19/enbridge-elk-point-spill-_n_1610613.html" target="_hplink"> spill was considered "significant" in size</a>.<br></br> "Any amount of crude oil out of a pipeline is significant to us. Obviously we've had a number of pipeline incidents in the past short while and we're monitoring cleanup on them and we have a number of investigations underway."

  • June 7, 2012 -- Red Deer River

    An estimated 475,000 litres of oil <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/09/alberta-oil-spill-red-deer-river_n_1583579.html" target="_hplink">spilled from a Plains Midstream Canada pipeline</a> and proceeded to leak into the Red Deer River. <br></br> Oil from a pipeline leak coats a pond near Sundre, Alta., Friday, June 8, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipeline leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of oil. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

  • June 7, 2012 -- Red Deer River

    Some of the oil <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/11/alberta-oil-pipeline-spill-red-deer-river-clean-up_n_1588536.html" target="_hplink">seeped into the Gleniffer reservoir</a>, which some Albertans rely on for drinking water. Plains Midstream Canada <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/11/alberta-oil-pipeline-spill-red-deer-river-clean-up_n_1588536.html" target="_hplink">trucked in drinking water</a> for those residing near the area.

  • May 19, 2012 -- Northwest Alberta

    Pace Oil and Gas's waste disposal line <a href="http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Rainbow Lake spill pegged at 22,000 barrels/6683338/story.html" target="_hplink">leaked about 22,000 barrels of a mixture of oil and water</a> 20 kilometres southeast of Rainbow Lake. The spill was discovered on May 19 by another oil and gas company.

  • May 19, 2012 -- Northwest Alberta

    The oil spill "<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/pipeline-spill-sends-22000-barrels-of-oil-mix-into-alberta-muskeg/article2447765/" target="_hplink">ranks among the largest in North America in recent years</a>," the Globe and Mail wrote.

  • June 26, 2011 -- Swan Hills

    A pipeline explosion and oil leak at a Pengrowth Energy facility caused a pipeline to leak <a href="http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110627/edm_oil_110627/20110627/?hub=EdmontonHome" target="_hplink">500 barrels of light, sweet crude oil into Judy Creek</a> near Swan Hills, Alberta.

  • June 26, 2011 -- Swan Hills

    Energy Resources Conservation Board spokesman Darin Barter said the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/06/27/edmonton-oil-spill-swan-hills.html" target="_hplink">leak was relatively small</a>. <br></br> "It's what we would consider a minor spill with 95 per cent of the product coming out of the pipeline being water and five per cent oil," he told CBC. "However, we're taking it very seriously, as is the company."

  • April 29, 2011 -- Little Buffalo First Nation

    Plains Midstream Canada's 45-year-old Rainbow pipeline<a href="http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/a-dire-warning-from-a-broken-pipe/article4262774/?service=mobile" target="_hplink"> spilled roughly 28,000 barrels of light crude oil</a> near Little Buffalo First Nation.

  • April 29, 2011 -- Little Buffalo First Nation

    Residents, including children, <a href="http://www.afn.ca/index.php/en/news-media/latest-news/urgent-measures-needed-for-citizens-of-little-buffalo-first-nation-in-" target="_hplink">reported incidents of burning eyes, stomach pains, disorientation, nausea and headaches</a>, according to the Assembly of First Nations.