LOS ANGELES - Hollywood activists unveiled a TV ad on Thursday to air over Memorial Day weekend accusing President Bush and the oil industry of robbing Americans at the gas pump.

The Detroit Project, founded by political columnist Arianna Huffington and Laurie Davis, the wife of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Larry David, funded the 30-second ad that is scheduled to appear on cable television starting on Friday, along with a print ad in the New York Times.

The spot is the latest in the Detroit Project's effort to galvanize Americans to demand stricter fuel economy standards and to wean the nation from foreign oil dependence.

Laurie David said the $100,000 campaign was planned for the first weekend of the summer driving season to capitalize on motorists' anger at rising gas prices.

"One of the reasons we are doing this ad is to connect the dots between the current administration and what's happening at the gas pump," David said. A Gallup Poll released this week showed that while Americans said record gas prices caused them hardship, only 5 percent blamed Bush or corporate greed.

The commercial, unveiled at a Los Angeles news conference, shows a woman standing at a gas pump watching the spinning dials as she fills her sport utility vehicle's tank.

She looks stunned as the pump shows $3.5 million in "Oil Company Contributors to Bush Campaign," $125 billion in "Record Profits for Oil Companies," and $48 billion in "US Tax Dollars Defending Middle East Oil" instead of her $50 gas purchase.

As she replaces the gas nozzle, the price gauge reads: $0.0 for "Bush-Cheney Solutions to America's Oil Addiction."

© Copyright Reuters 2004.

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