B-Roll of Rally? Check. Cheesesteak? Check. Hardscrabble Street Shot? Check. The Political Ad Season Has Arrived

Political ad = cheesesteak consumption. | Screen grab of Tony Williams new campaign ad.

State Senator and mayoral candidate Tony Williams is the first contender to take to the air with a campaign-funded TV ad. There’s a pro Jim-Kenney spot airing for a few weeks now, but that one was purchased by an independent expenditure committee, not Kenney’s campaign.

The Williams ad is a classic candidate-introduction spot. It pictures Williams meeting with voters, walking down a hard-scrabble street, even eating a cheesesteak. The ad touches on Williams’ role in bringing state funding to city schools and his support of a gun violence task force, but this spot isn’t meant to be an issue ad so much as it’s designed to create a positive first impression of Williams.

It opens with old family photos of his grandfather, “one of the first black mailmen on the main line,” and his father, Hardy Williams, who was key member of the first generation of black political leaders to wield real power in Philadelphia.

This doesn’t look to be a big ad buy. Not yet, at least. The Williams campaign has written a $21,611 check to 6ABC, but I see no records of ad purchases at other stations.

Check the ad out for yourself below.