Romney campaign holds contest for new TV ad

Mitt Romney wants you -- to come up with the new official TV ad for his presidential bid.

And his website will provide 372 photos, 44 video clips, and 36 audio files to help the creative process. But you better get cracking: The deadline for submissions is Sept. 17, and an online vote will help determine the winner.

His campaign announced the contest today, calling it unprecedented and saying that the winner will be the first amateur to have his or her work used as an official ad for a presidential campaign. The winning ad will air the week of Sept. 20 as part of the "Rally for Romney" grassroots event.

"Your ad can feature Mitt's biography, his family, his record as Governor, or his agenda for a stronger America," says the pitch on his website. "In fact, your ad can have practically any theme you choose as long as you support the campaign creatively and respectively."

The winner doesn't get any money, only the fame of creating a national political ad. "That is the prize," said Stephen Smith, the director of online communications for the Romney campaign.

He said the campaign expects many good submissions, but does not have a goal on the number of entries. "It's really hard to gauge because no one has ever done this before," he said.

The ad is supposed to be either 27 seconds or 57 seconds, leaving time for the required disclaimer in the 30-second or 60-second commercial slots. The site helpfully provides an example of a TV ad the campaign created itself.

There are some rules. You have to be at least 18 and a US citizen, but professionals not involved with the campaign can take part.

It's the latest wrinkle in the evolving world of politics and the Web, when thousands of bloggers comment on every development and when millions have access to the tools to create their own multimedia presentations. The Romney campaign is collaborating with Yahoo-owned Jumpcut.com, a multimedia editing platform.

"It is truly groundbreaking for amateur, grassroots supporters to so directly assist in introducing their candidate to the American people," Alex Castellanos, senior adviser and media strategist to Romney, said in a statement. "This contest demonstrates Romney for President's commitment to using unique and democratizing online tools to engage voters and harness the extraordinary enthusiasm of its growing team of supporters."