It began the campaign with a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for Obama to issue an executive order closing the military prison camp on Cuba holding suspected terrorists when he takes office Jan. 20, McClatchy Newspapers reported.

"On Day One, with the stroke of a pen, you can restore America's moral leadership in the World," the ad read.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero told McClatchy the ad was "a shot across the bow," adding his group would spend up to $500,000 for the campaign.

An Obama spokeswoman told the newspapers Sunday the transition team would have no comment.