Romney ad contest is down to nine, also gets spoofed

Rest assured, this entry won't win. And not just because it goes way over the time limit.

The creative folks at Slate.com came up with a spoof for Mitt Romney's contest for supporters to put together a TV ad for his presidential campaign. The spot, titled "Five Brothers," borrows from "Band of Brothers," the highly acclaimed series about World War II, to skewer Romney over a comment he made on the campaign trail.

Asked last month by an antiwar activist in Iowa why Romney's five sons -- who are in their mid-20s to mid-30s -- had not enlisted in the military, Romney replied, "One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."

The Slate ad, first spotted by Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic, shows the sons playing golf, riding a campaign bus across Iowa, and ruminating about fireflies.

On the other hand, the nine authorized finalists, unveiled today, are full of soaring music, Americana scenes, and flattering photos of Romney.

Many of the same speech snippets and scenes appear since, as part of the contest, entrants used 372 photos, 44 video clips, and 36 audio files provided by the campaign. And some entries crib liberally from ads that have already aired.

Voting continues through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. To prevent electronic ballot stuffing, voters must provide an email address.

"The winner will become the first amateur ever to have his or her work used as an official television advertisement for a presidential campaign," Romney's camp said. "This contest demonstrates Romney for President’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to engage voters online and harness the extraordinary enthusiasm of its grassroots supporters."