With President Obama in China, the advocacy group Sudan Now is engaging in some clever Facebook ad tactics. The group, reports Mark Leon Goldberg, is running spots targeted towards two Facebook networks: former staffers from Organizing for America and "EOP Staff," a.k.a. the Executive Office of the President. Narrowcasted ads like this have the benefit of raising attention amongst a treasured constituency on a focused issue -- in this case Beijing's continued support for and engagement with the regime in Khartoum, despite the multiple violent fronts on which the Sudanese government has tussled with its people. The bonus benefit is the almost guaranteed earned media coverage for engaging in clever Facebook ad tactics.

Today's ads are part of Sudan Now's broader push to use social media to encourage Obama to "implement real consequences for those in Sudan who continue to commit mass atrocity and undermine peace; lead a more inclusive, robust and urgent peace process for Darfur; and build an international coalition for strict implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and to counter the growing violence in the South." If Sudan Now is truly hoping to reaching White House staff traveling in country with Obama, they'd better hope the Administration isn't relying upon local computers. Facebook is regularly blocked in China.