CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State Auditor Glen Gainer on Monday defended his decision to take part in an online Visa advertising campaign that touts the West Virginia's purchasing card program.

Gainer said his appearance in Visa's video spots had an obvious "overwhelming public benefit" -- to recognize that the purchasing cards save taxpayer dollars -- and therefore was permissible under the state Ethics Act.

On Monday, Visa removed the ads from its website, while Gainer asked the state Ethics Commission for a formal advisory opinion on whether his appearance in the Visa videos violated the state's ethics law.

"We'll be working with the commission throughout this process," said Justin Southern, a spokesman for Gainer's office.

The Visa purchasing cards, also known as "P-cards," save the state $145 million a year, according to Gainer.

"Highlighting our achievements and successes, rather than belaboring our perceived shortcomings, promotes our state," said Gainer in a letter to Ethics Commission Executive Director Theresa Kirk on Monday. "The public benefit is obvious."

Visa took down the West Virginia purchasing card videos from its website Monday morning at Gainer's request.

"We have recently been made aware of an enquiry regarding the video's compliance with our Ethics Act," Gainer wrote to Visa. "Although we believe the factual promotion of the state's successes in this area fully comply with the requirement of the act, it would be improper to continue to allow access during the pendency of an enquiry."

In the videos, Gainer and four other state officials talk mostly about how West Virginia's state government purchasing card program saves money. They seldom mention Visa by name. They were responding to questions asked by the film crew that shot the videos, the state officials have said.

Gainer and the state agency administrators also said they received no compensation to appear in the videos, which are part of Visa's "Currency of Progress" marketing campaign that promotes the benefits of using prepaid credit cards over checks and cash.

Last August, the Ethics Commission ruled that the ethics law prohibits public officials from endorsing products, unless the endorsement's public benefit outweighs the private gain.

"The Ethics Commission is unable to envision a circumstance where a public servant could appear, or be referenced, in an advertisement for a product, service or business without violating the Ethics Act," the 2101 opinion stated.

State ethics law bars public officials from using the "prestige of his or her office" for the private gain of an individual or business.

In his letter to the Ethics Commission, Gainer said West Virginia "has been repeatedly lauded for purchasing card best practices." The program generates $8 million in "rebate dollars" every year, he said.

"It would be unfortunate if public officials were unable to promote, or even provide factual comments concerning those successes," Gainer told the ethics agency in his letter.

The auditor also noted that the Citibank provides the Visa cards under a $432 million contact with the state. Gainer's office manages the program.

Gainer said Citibank, not his office, selected Visa as the P-card provider.

"I participated in Visa's Currency of Progress website with the knowledge that Visa does not advertise or solicit business from any purchasing card program," Gainer said in his letter. "I'm not aware of any decision by the Ethics Commission defining 'advertising' to encompass this scenario."

In one video, Gainer remarks, "Visa's been an outstanding business partner ... working with us to better meet the needs of our vendors."

The online spots include shots of the state Capitol, West Virginia state flag, the auditor's office and Gainer campaign buttons that say, "Elect Gainer Auditor."

On Monday, Gainer's office said the campaign buttons were used by his late father, former Auditor Glen Gainer Jr., who served from 1977 to 1993.

 "When you run for public office - and I am elected -- the one thing people like to say is, 'We need to run government more like a business,'" Gainer says in the Visa video. "If anything, we try to do it better than they do in the private sector."

In the same video, Gainer later remarks, "If we tried to take the cards away, I'd be run out of office."

The other West Virginia officials who appeared in the promotional videos were Mike Dorsey, the Department of Environmental Protection's chief of homeland security and emergency response; Jim Calvert, DEP's administrative services manager; state Division of Highways Deputy Secretary Keith Chapman; and Cindy Marn, associate director of purchasing services at West Virginia University.

West Virginia agencies have issued about 7,000 Visa purchasing cards, with plans to distribute 10,000 more, according to Visa's website. Authorized employees receive the Visa cards, which act much like a credit card.

The state averages 56,000 transactions totaling $36 million each month. The cards are used for small-dollar transactions, as well as major contract payments.

Visa's marketing campaign, which began in October 2009, also has featured the governments of Pakistan and the Dominican Republic to show how purchasing card programs save taxpayer dollars.