Ad watch: Cranley's 'Change'

AD: "Change," a 30-second television commercial for Councilman John Cranley. Started running Wednesday. Producer: Allan Crow.

SCRIPT: Male announcer: "He's a voice for change in Cincinnati. City Council member John Cranley. Fighting to change the way things are done at City Hall. Passing a measure to put more cops on the street. Tripling neighborhood patrols. Promoting safer neighborhoods by getting police officers out of the office and into the community." Cranley: "I am John Cranley, and I believe Cincinnati is worth fighting for." Announcer: "Fighting for change. Fighting for us. John Cranley. City Council."

VISUALS: The ad opens with a panoramic city view from Mount Echo Park, followed by scenes of Cranley walking along downtown streets. Coat over his shoulder, Cranley turns around in front of City Hall. Cranley walks with a police officer downtown, and talks with citizens in neighborhoods. Cranley speaks directly to the camera from a perch in Mount Adams.

FACT CHECK: Change is an ambiguous concept, and whether Cranley is truly a change agent at City Hall depends on what kind of change any given voter is looking for. But it's undeniable that Cranley is one of the savviest lawmakers at City Hall, and most of the groundbreaking legislation passed over the past five years has his fingerprints on it somewhere.

Cranley did author a measure to increase spending on police overtime by $1.2 million in May, but the claim that neighborhood patrols have tripled is oversimplified to the point of misleading. The additional money tripled the amount of overtime spent on two specific summertime programs, but did not affect the number of regular neighborhood patrols. Also, only $700,000 went to patrols, with the remaining $500,000 going to felony warrant sweeps. The patrols were concentrated in only 13 city neighborhoods.

STRATEGY: Despite the emphasis on "change," this is the most conventional political ad Cranley has run in three campaigns for City Council. In 2001, he aired the now-infamous "Duh!" ad, which featured two middle-aged women commenting on whether Cranley's proposals for more police and less subsidized housing made sense. ("Duh!" they responded.) The most memorable image from his slide-show style 2003 ad was of Cranley sticking his fingers in his ears to make a point about the noise at Lunken Airport. Style points aside, the ad's substance -- though singularly focused on safety -- is more issue-oriented than many ads this season.