By Clare Ansberry

A GOP committee has pulled a television ad from broadcast after reports that men featured in the ad – who were supposed to be “Regular Joes’’ in West Virginia – were nothing of the sort.

The ad characterized West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin as a rubber stamp for the Obama administration.

But the men in the ad, shown talking to each other in a diner, were actors who had responded to a casting call seeking people with a “ `Hicky’ Blue Collar look,” Politico reported. The ad was shot in Philadelphia, Politico said.

“These characters are from West Virginia, so think coal miner/trucker looks,” read the casting call, which went on to suggest proper attire – flannel shirts and beat-up trucker hats.

The ad was paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but the casting call was written by a talent agency.

Manchin, who is trailing Republican candidate John Raese in his bid for U.S. Senate, seized on the revelation.

“It’s offensive, and it only proves that John Raese has spent too much time in the state of Florida, living in his Palm Beach mansion, and doesn’t know, understand or respect the great people of this state, and what we stand for,” Manchin said in a statement.

Raese’s campaign distanced itself from the ad, saying that no one in the campaign had anything to do with it and that the bigger issue is that voters don’t want their representatives voting lockstep with the White House.