Obama campaign launches first TV ads of 2012 election

The Ticket

With just under a year before Election Day, President Obama has launched his first television ads of the 2012 campaign.

As CBS News's Norah O'Donnell was first to report, the president's re-election campaign is airing two 30-second ads featuring Obama asking supporters to officially join his campaign.

"I need you to do me a favor. It'll only take a minute. The 2012 campaign is underway, and the outcome will depend not on what I do, but on what you do," Obama says in the first ad. "Starting right now, call the number on your screen or visit JoinObama.com to help build our campaign in your community. It's up to you to fight for the values we all share. Don't sit this one out."

You can watch the spot after the jump, courtesy the Obama campaign:

In a second spot, the president urges supporters to join his "movement."

"It starts with one person making a decision--that things need to change, and they're going to help change them. That person finds another person who shares their values. They go out and find a few more--and before long, neighborhoods come together," the president says. "Communities organize. A movement builds. It all starts with you, making a decision to get involved--because we've got so much more to do. Call the number on your screen or visit JoinObama.com to let me know you're in."

You can watch the second spot below, courtesy the Obama campaign:

It's unclear how much the Obama campaign is spending on the ads, which are set to run concurrently on cable TV networks, or why the campaign is launching the spots now. Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt declined to Yahoo News on the campaign's advertising strategy.
But the president's message seems aimed at mobilizing the historic supporter network that turned out to elect Obama in 2008 but largely stayed at home during the 2010 midterm elections, in which Democrats suffered historic losses.

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