Brewster McCracken: “Stronger Than We Were Before”
Produced by local firm Arts+Labor and lensed by director PJ Raval, McCracken’s clip is steeped in the same hip, high tech signifiers as his campaign. Wicked HD resolution! The Pecan Street Project! Chillin’ at the Alamo Drafthouse! Which is all fine – until the clip cuts to Matrix-style, time-shifting “bullet-cam” swoops. It’s thrilling if you’re watching latex-clad Carrie-Ann Moss plunge off a building – not so much if it’s Brewster McCracken walking into City Hall.
Grade: B
Lee Leffingwell: “Running for Mayor”
Well, there’s one way to prove your environmental bonafides: by recycling the same campaign clip as last year! Except for an establishing shot of a new yard sign, it’s the same clip Leffingwell used in his re-election “run” – ha, get it? – last year. Moreover, he’s composted it into two clips: one more autobiographical, one focusing on accomplishments. Solid message, but it looks like Lee’s already started “hunkering down.”
Grade: B–
Carole Keeton Strayhorn: “Not on My Watch!”
This slick attack ad begins by claiming McCracken and Leffingwell “voted to spend millions more than the city is bringing in,” demonstrating that former Comptroller Strayhorn either has no inkling of the city budget process or is lying. (Her sensational claim simply doesn’t acknowledge the city’s revenue-generating utilities.) She attacks Cap Metro on similarly spurious grounds, saying millions “vanished” (the funds, sunk into Cap Metro’s rail line, are well accounted for). Cue lots of scary gridlock footage and a wild-eyed Strayhorn braying she’ll “get Austin moving” – down the highway, natch. (Plus, the first version of this ad stole Chronicle photog John Anderson’s shot of Leffingwell, sans permission – not that we hold a grudge.)
Grade: F
Perla Cavazos: “Is This Austin?”
Cavazos has caught some flak from Downtown density boosters for her yuppie-baiting clip, asking, “From valet parking to $500,000 condos, do you ever wonder if we’re still in Austin?” It’s a little snarky but not nearly as bad as Laura Morrison’s 2008 ad envisioning Cabrini-Green on Lady Bird Lake. Goofier is “the human side” message Cavazos has adopted as her closing frame – she’s not running against the T-1000, is she? (Wait, don’t answer that.) But the music is kicking!
Grade: B–
Chris Riley: “Taking Action for Austin”
No real production values in this one. Nice sleight of hand on the neighborhoodanistas in Riley’s statement he “started a neighborhood association” without mentioning it’s the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association. (Take that, Old West Austin!) It’s the more substantive Place 1 ad, enumerating Riley’s achievements. Plus, he continues his quest to be the season’s hippest candidate (sorry Brewster) by featuring a real live tattooed bike rider! (It looks like a sleeve tat, but the video’s a little grainy.)
GRADE: B+
This article appears in May 8 • 2009.