Mayor Thomas Menino's desk gets around. At least, that's according to a spot his re-election campaign has put on YouTube.

"This is the desk of Mayor Thomas M. Menino. A man who doesn't conduct business behind closed doors, but out in the neighborhoods of Boston," the 34-second spot starts, in an apparent reference to the criticism he and the Boston Redevelopment Authority have received from his opponents, who say the administration isn't transparent in how it conducts business.

The spot then has the desk sitting outside an affordable housing project in Roslindale, "stunning parklands" in West Roxbury, tree planting in Dorchester, school yards in South Boston, and waterfront development.

Is it just us, or would it have been more fun to do it Conan O'Brien-style? The campaign couldn't spring for a green screen?

UPDATE: David Passafaro, the Menino campaign’s treasurer, said the ad will be in rotation, along with a “couple of others,” including some 15-second spots, until Sept. 22. He declined to get into details on strategy and to say how much they were spending in the expensive Boston television advertising market.

The campaign has about $1 million in the bank heading into the preliminary, which Menino is widely expected to survive, leaving Flaherty, McCrea and Yoon to duke it out for second place. The final election, between Menino and the runner-up, is scheduled for Nov. 3.