Ad watch: Mallory's 'Morning in Cincinnati'

AD: "Morning in Cincinnati," a 30-second television ad for Mark Mallory for mayor. Began running Tuesday morning. Produced by 779 Ltd.

SCRIPT: Female Announcer: "Our city's been falling behind. Cincinnati needs new leadership: Mark Mallory, a proven leader with the experience to bring people together and make our city great again. The Enquirer says Mark Mallory is 'a leader, able to focus on the big picture.' That's why Mark Mallory is endorsed by Republican and Democrats, as well as police, firefighters, labor and business groups. Mark Mallory will be a mayor for all of Cincinnati." Mallory: "I'm Mark Mallory, and I'm asking for your vote, on Nov. 8."

VISUALS: Against a backdrop of the downtown skyline, Mallory is shown in video clips talking to residents and working in Columbus. At the end, he talks straight into the camera. Key phrases: "Proven leader." "'A leader able to focus on the big picture' -- Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/11/05." "Endorsed by former Mayor Roxanne Qualls, former Senate President Stanley J. Aronoff, former Senate President Richard Finan." "Endorsed by City Beat, Sentinel Police Association, African-American Firefighters Association, Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council." "Mark Mallory for Mayor, November 8."

FACT CHECK: The Enquirer quote comes from his pre-primary endorsement, when the newspaper endorsed both Mallory and his opponent. The newspaper endorsed David Pepper in next Tuesday's election. Mallory does have endorsements from prominent Republicans and Democrats, but the assertion that he's "endorsed by ... police (and) firefighters" has led to complaints from the police and fire unions, both of which endorsed Pepper, that the ad is misleading. The graphics in the ad, however, disclosed that the endorsements were from groups of black police officers and black firefighters.

STRATEGY: With a relatively small budget for television advertising, Mallory's ad appears with just a week left in the campaign. It's a positive ad that conveys Mallory's Statehouse experience and broad support. And it didn't cut corners on production value, even though it was essentially produced in-house by a company led by Mallory Development Director Dan Phenicie.

RESPONSE: "Sometimes positive ads can be just as misleading as negative ads, and clearly Mark Mallory's ad is misleading," said Pepper campaign manager Greg Landsman.