'Obamacan' Wins MoveOn.Org's Ad Contest

A straightforward advertisement featuring a lifelong Republican and military veteran who is supporting Barack Obama has won MoveOn.org's "Obama in 30 Seconds" ad contest and will begin airing on cable and network stations in key battleground states Ohio, Wisconsin, and Colorado.

The ad, called "Obamacan" and created by Californians David Gaw and Lance Mungia, was chosen from 1,100 entries by a "celebrity panel" that included director Oliver Stone as well as 5.5 million people who voted at the MoveOn website.

In the 30-second spot, U.S. Air Force vet John Weiler says he's a lifelong Republican who served under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush but will vote for Obama because he can unite the "left, right, Democrats, and Republicans."

MoveOn, which announced the winner this morning, has pledged to spend $200,000 to air the ad, and is using the ad as a fundraising tool—asking supporters to give so it can run in other markets.

Mungia, an Obama supporter, said he was inspired by an Obama meeting in California attended by an "independent, a Democrat, and a Republican sitting side by side" and "passionate about the same issues."

—Liz Halloran