LANSING, MI — Right-to-work opponents are criticizing an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal that uses the Pure Michigan logo while touting the new right-to-work law as a reason to do business in the state.

The full-page print ad, titled, ‘What happens when Michigan makes history,’ contains the following text:

Pure Michigan is the state's wildly popular tourism campaign credited with drawing millions of visitors with ads highlighting the Great Lakes state's natural beauty and cultural attractions.

But the Michigan Economic Development Corp. has also used the brand in economic development programs such as Pure Michigan Business Connect and Pure Michigan Talent Connect.

Progress Michigan, a group that often works with unions and supports their causes, tweeted that Gov. Rick Snyder “politicized” the Pure Michigan brand with the Wall Street Journal ad.

Jewel Gopwani of The Detroit Free Press seems to agree.

"Right-to-work advocates may argue that the WSJ ad features one positive on top of another. But this issue has divided our state, and by connecting right-to-work to Pure Michigan, it politicizes a distinctly positive, politically neutral campaign that encourages state pride," she wrote.

The ad certainly left a sour taste for some people. Bill Castanier of Lansing Online News wrote that the Pure Michigan brand "might be seen in a different light now by a significant population of Michigan."

Many people took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, including Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, who tweeted that it was "disappointing" Snyder would use the brand "to push his partisan 'Right to Work' rhetoric."

Michigan resident

Tommy Valdez

tweeted that he’s done supporting Pure Michigan, calling the ad “disgusting,” and

Frank Maynard

of Novi tweeted that Pure Michigan is about the state’s tourism and beauty, not “ugly politics.”

Americans for Prosperity-Michigan, which has supported right to work, tweeted about the ad saying the law makes Michigan better and that it's a new day for business here.

MEDC spokesman Michael Shore could not immediately be reached for comment, but said last month that the organization has seen increased activity from site selection specialists since enactment of right to work and has received positive feedback from companies it has been working to attract to Michigan.

MEDC President and CEO Michael Finney discussed right to work during a Detroit Economic Club event on Tuesday.

“The fact of the matter is, is that it’s very difficult to predict to what’s going to happen,” Finney said. “Which also means that right to work will not be represented as a silver bullet any more than changes in taxes and other things can be represented as a silver bullet.”

Related: Detroit Economic Club's 2013 Michigan Economic Outlook: Impact of right to work unpredictable, but unlikely to be abrupt

MLive Detroit business writer David Muller contributed to this report.

Email Melissa Anders at manders@mlive.com. Follow her on Twitter: @MelissaDAnders. Download the MLive app for iPhone and Android.