Mitt Romney Ad-Creation Contest Says No 'Way!'

Remember that Mitt Romney video ad-creation contest? The one where the former Massachusetts Governor partnered with online-editing site Jumpcut for a new supporter-created campaign commercial. The one that everyone was likening to those user-generated Chevy Tahoe ads that turned the car manufacturer’s good-intended interactive outreach into an exercise on the best way to criticize SUVs affect on the environment.

Well, political pundit and Slate writer, Bruce Reed decided to give the contest a shot with “Way!“, but the Romney campaign didn’t like it. The Romeny campaign didn’t like it one bit. ###

With the use of speech bubbles to great comedic effect, Reed’s entry displays a courageous Mitt who persuades son Tagg to remain a Republican because Democrats are for gay marriage.

Despite being a clear contest winner with well over 19,000 views and 16,000 votes (a 2-1 margin over its closest competition), clairvoyant political strategists realized it might not do the Romney camp well if Reed’s video became their official campaign commercial. Today they removed the video, leaving voters with nine finalists to choose from instead of 10, none of which, not surprisingly, sends as pointed a message.

Reed’s reaction to the decision is both quippy and poignant, “Our fearless leader promised us online democracy, not a Soviet-style election run by totalitarian Mittistas.”