Kathleen Falk's First TV Spot

It was just a matter of time before Democratic AG candidate Kathleen Falk took advantage of her funding lead to pump out a campaign ad.

You can see the ad here.

It's quite good. The spot highlights her time as an Assistant Attorney General, and also how she has emphasized law enforcement in her current position as Dane County Executive. At the end of the ad, Falk points to identity theft, gang violence, and drug violence as three areas she would target if elected.

It's a very straightforward, positive, get-to-know-you spot, which seems pretty typical for an opening ad.

J.B. Van Hollen is the only other candidate with a TV ad out, which makes sense considering Falk and Van Hollen lead the four AG candidates in campaign wallet size. As of July 30, Falk had $607,000 in the bank, Van Hollen had $417,000, Peg Lautenschlager had $238,000, and Paul Bucher had $85,000.

The Van Hollen spot is similarly positive and also serves as an attempt to introduce the candidate to voters. Although the Van Hollen ad doesn't explicitly mention any issues that he'll target if elected, as Falk does, which could be a result of how largely unknown Van Hollen remains around the state (only 11 percent have an opinion of him, according to a recent WISC-TV poll).

Falk is a little better off in the recognition department (33%), which possibly allows her to focus less on herself and dive right into the issues in her campaign's opening ad.

But what also jumps out at me as a difference between the two is that Falk personally and directly addresses the audience in her ad, while Van Hollen relies on a voiceover throughout his ad.

It seems somewhat minor, but perhaps it will have an impact. When you're trying to introduce yourself to people, I imagine a personal message plays better than a voiceover.