The latest TV ads in the Philly mayor’s race include two ex-mayors and the first attack ad

The battle for Philadelphians’ attention is heating up on television as the city’s mayoral race enters the final eight weeks before the primary election — and without clear front-runners.

As of this week, four contenders will be running television commercials, with former City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart set to launch ads Tuesday. Her first commercial aims to set her apart as the candidate “ready to be mayor on day one,” and features former Mayors Michael A. Nutter and John F. Street, both of whom have endorsed Rhynhart.

The spot shows the two ex-mayors — who notoriously butted heads — sitting side-by-side and ribbing each other, with Nutter saying “we don’t always agree.” Street then says “but we agree vociferously” on Rhynhart. The mayors describe her as an expert on the city budget who has “commonsense plans” to deal with gun violence and quality-of-life issues.

Candidates typically try to keep their message on the airwaves through election day. Rhynhart’s campaign said the initial buy is part of a seven-figure media plan that stretches through mid-May.

The candidates and groups supporting them have so far spent more than $6.5 million on advertising, according to the media-tracking firm Ad Impact. That sum is likely to swell significantly in the coming weeks as more outside groups try to influence the race — in 2015, super PACs supporting two candidates spent more than $10 million combined.

Most of the spending so far this year has been by grocer Jeff Brown and former City Councilmember Allan Domb, both of whom are self-funding their campaigns in part and have been running television ads for months. Former Councilmember Cherelle Parker began running commercials two weeks ago.

Of the field of 12 candidates, several other viable contenders or groups supporting them could still go up on the air, making for a final stretch that stands to bombard city viewers with political messaging.

While television advertising doesn’t have a monopoly on voters’ attention, strategists and campaigns see it as one of the most effective ways to appeal directly to voters — especially the many who are likely undecided ahead of the May 16 primary election. The winner of the primary is well-positioned to win the Mayor’s Office, given Philadelphia’s heavily Democratic electorate.

Voters could also this week see the first negative ads of the season. Domb is running a spot attacking Brown over commercials he ran earlier in the cycle that featured footage of former first lady Michelle Obama. In the footage, Obama praised Brown for his work bringing supermarkets to neighborhoods that lack access to healthy, affordable food.

“Bless his heart. Jeff Brown thought he could fool us into believing Michelle Obama was supporting his campaign,” a narrator says in the Domb-funded ad. “Didn’t he realize the truth would eventually come out?”

Obama’s office was critical of two ads run by Brown’s campaign and an independent expenditure group, also known as a super PAC, that is supporting his bid. A spokesperson for the former first lady said the ads were “manipulating” footage of her that was more than a decade old in order to imply an endorsement she never made.

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Brown has said his commercials made no such claim and featured footage that was in the public domain. The campaign stopped running the ads shortly after learning Obama’s office was unhappy.

His campaign is not legally allowed to coordinate with the super PAC, called For a Better Philadelphia. A spokesperson for the super PAC has said that Obama was “a very good validator” of Brown and that they didn’t intend to take her comments out of context. The ads are no longer running.

Kyle Anderson, a spokesperson for Brown’s campaign, said Domb’s ad — which came after days of several candidates teeing off on Brown — shows he “is clearly the front-runner, and you can see why.” Anderson referred to Brown’s opponents as “political hacks” who have “no accomplishments to speak of.”

“They are doing what political hacks do, run negative campaigns, because they have nothing to say,” he said.

Jared Leopold, a spokesperson for Domb’s campaign, said Domb is “proud to run on his record of creating jobs in Philadelphia and demanding accountability on City Council.” He said Brown “owes voters answers about why he ran ads that Michelle Obama’s office called ‘disappointing’ for ‘manipulating her old appearances.’”

No independent polling has been released, so it’s unclear which candidates are leading in the crowded race — and momentum could shift in the final eight weeks. According to private polling and strategists, Brown is likely in the top tier of contenders, largely because television ads boosting his candidacy have been running for several months.

Brown’s campaign has spent nearly $1.3 million on advertising, according to Ad Impact, and last week released a commercial that takes a swipe at his opponents. It shows images of Domb and Parker, as well as former Councilmembers Helen Gym, Derek Green, and Maria Quiñones Sánchez.

“We’ve all seen how crime got worse while these candidates sat in City Hall,” a narrator says in the ad.

The group For a Better Philadelphia has spent just over a million dollars on ads, according to Ad Impact. It is largely funded by a nonprofit entity that has not had to disclose its donors.

Ad spending boosting Brown has been dwarfed by Domb, a real estate magnate who has spent more than $4 million on advertising alone, according to Ad Impact. He has put at least $5 million of his own money into his campaign, according to the most recent campaign-finance reports, which were released in January.

Domb’s ads have largely focused on his biography and his messaging around crime. One ad flashes headlines about recent shootings and says Domb has a “detailed plan to fight back, including cracking down on the illegal guns that have taken over our streets.”