President Barack Obama deployed Big Bird in a new campaign ad Tuesday mocking Mitt Romney's vow to end federal funding for public broadcasting.
Romney's campaign dismissed it as an example of Obama being small-minded while the foundation behind Big Bird's program, Sesame Street, asked that the ad be taken down.
The satirical spot, set to air on national broadcast and cable TV stations, shows images of convicted financiers, including Bernie Madoff and Enron's Ken Lay, and suggests Romney thinks Big Bird is behind their crimes.
Romney said in last week's nationally televised debate with Obama that he liked Big Bird but would, if elected, end federal subsidies for the Public Broadcasting Service to help balance the budget.
PBS airs Sesame Street.
Obama seized on that comment after the debate and has used it to poke at Romney, and Tuesday's ad marked his re-election campaign's latest effort to make fun of his Republican rival.
But Sesame Workshop, which supports Sesame Street, didn't see it as a laughing matter. It asked for the ad to be pulled.
"Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns," the organization said in a terse, two-sentence statement. "We have approved no campaign ads and, as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down."
