President Barack Obama re-election campaign announced Friday it would air a positive campaign ad during the opening ceremonies for the Olympic games this evening.
The ad, called "I Believe," features American workers across the farming, manufacturing, transportation and business worlds rising early in the morning and going to work, accompanied by the president's voice-over.
"We're a nation of workers and doers and dreamers," Obama's voice-over, a clip from a July 14th rally in Virginia, states. "We work hard for what we get. And all we ask for is that our hard work pays off."
"I believe that the way you grow the economy is from the middle out. I believe in fighting for the middle class because if they're prospering all of us will prosper. That's the idea of America and that's why America is the greatest nation on earth," Obama says as the ad concludes.
The Obama campaign spent around $1 million for the opening ceremony ad time and an additional $5.5 million on ad time during the Olympic games overall.
Airing political ads during the Olympic games is not uncommon. During the 2008 Olympics, both GOP candidate John McCain and then Senator Obama aired ads.
But McCain's negative ad, aired during the opening ceremonies, led to fierce criticism by Olympics viewers who didn't believe the spirit reflected the camaraderie and friendly competition of the games.
Earlier this week, pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action was forced to remove a political ad that used images of the Olympic opening ceremonies' parade of nations to accuse Republican candidate Mitt Romney of outsourcing jobs during his time at Bain Capital and as governor of Massachusetts.
Romney, who was the President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics, also made a campaign ad featuring footage from his time in Utah.
Both ads were removed from the air after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said they conflicted with the charter of the games.
"The Olympic Games are a celebration of friendship, excellence and respect," U.S. Olympic Committee Spokesman Patrick Sandusky wrote after the removal of the Obama ad. "While we are absolutely confident that neither presidential candidate nor campaign has participated in the production or distribution of these negative ads, the attacks, using Olympic themes and images, need to stop."
"Regarding Olympic footage, it pertains to all ads. We will not allow Olympic footage to be used in any political ad, positive or negative," Sandusky added.
The opening ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympic games in London will begin shortly and will be aired on NBC beginning at 7:30 pm ET. There are no reports the Romney campaign will also air an ad.
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