Air Force jets rumbled in the skies over San Jose, Green Day brilliantly embedded “American Idiot” in their set, and banana peel physical comedy—with groovy ’70s haircuts—played centerstage in agency creative briefs.
Amidst the high-budget creativity, an indie committee supporting our San Jose’s mayor’s run for governor dropped close to a million-and-a-half dollars to introduce Matt Mahan to Californians. It was a pretty straightforward ad, consistent with the mayor’s back-to-basic messaging.
Since it wasn’t broadcast here during the Super Bowl, we’ve helpfully embedded this link. The ad opens with a line of tents on a city sidewalk and the statement, “We have problems toxic politics can’t fix.” It cuts to a crime scene and a grocery checkout line, then touts San Jose’s status as America’s safest big city (a claim that precedes Mahan’s mayoralty) and takes note of the city’s 100% homicide clearance rate (thanks in part to APLR cameras).
The pro-Mahan spot includes a citation to the San Jose Inside post about the city’s double-digit drop in unsheltered homelessness, according to the city’s annual Point-in-Time Count census of unsheltered people in San Jose. According to the ad, the principal funders of California Back to Basics are Y Combinator partner Michael Seibel and power couple Marc & Ashley Merrill, founders of the Riot Games and apparel brand Lunya, respectively.
Mahan delivered his State of the City address outside San Pedro Square Market on Saturday morning and touched on similar themes, including homelessness, crime reduction, streamlined housing approvals and energy affordability. He told The Fly afterward that he hadn’t seen the television spot and was unaware of the ad buy, saying he had been focused on preparing for the speech.
On housing the unsheltered, Mahan said, “Over the past three years… we’ve been able to reduce the number of people living outside by nearly one-third by opening nearly 2,000 more beds. ...For the first time, a majority of people experiencing homelessness in our city will be living indoors, not outdoors.”
While touting “best-in-class technologies” for crime reduction, the mayor took aim at immigration sweeps. “We can enforce laws and have a secure border without terrorizing hardworking neighbors who are doing the most American thing imaginable: working hard, sometimes two or three jobs at a time, just to create a better future for their children.”
Check the spot out and let us know what you think.
