Campaign advertisements styled as mini-documentaries seem to be all the rage these days.
Newt Gingrich released a 16-minute long video exploring his path from childhood to the presidential campaign trail, just days after President Obama's reelection team unveiled its own 17-minute documentary-style advertisement.
Gingrich's short film chronicles his life from childhood, to his House speakership, to the present-day race for the White House.
The video titled, "Rebuilding the America We Love," touts the former House Speaker's small-town roots, growing up in Pennsylvania, and features interviews with Gingrich, his wife Callista, daughters Kathy Lubbers and Jackie Cushman, as well as Deputy Campaign Manger Vince Haley.
"I grew up in kind of an idyllic children's background," Gingrich says towards the beginning of the video.
The extended campaign ad highlights his passion for animals and the zoo as a young boy and cites a trip to a World War I battlefield with this father as his reason for pursuing his future career.
"I decided in August of '58 that I would spend my life on three things: What do we need to do in order to survive as a free country, how would you explain it to the American people so they give you permission and how would you actually implement it," Gingrich says.
The video also aims to portray Gingrich as a man of family and faith, an important factor in a campaign where his marital history has been considered a potential vulnerability.
Gingrich concludes the video telling viewers he is the only candidate that "understands how big the changes have to be for America to succeed" and the candidate with the most experience achieving "very large scale projects."
The political biopic comes days before he faces a pivotal test in Tuesday's primaries in Mississippi and Alabama. The GOP hopeful has staked his candidacy on a strong showing in Southern states. Gingrich said Sunday he expects to win both primaries and stood by his vow to stay in the race through the convention.
