A kid forgets his lunch, and his mother runs out to give it to him as the school bus pulls away. Then John Connolly, mayoral candidate, appears. “I got this,” he says, and starts to chase the bus through the neighborhood as a narrator highlights his record on schools.

The ad, titled “I Got This,” never aired on television. But it received the “Best Ad that Never Saw the Light of Day” honor at the 2014 Reed Awards in Washington, DC, on Feb. 7.

A former campaign aide described the ad on background to the Reporter.

Adelstein Liston was the firm behind the ad, which aimed to show Connolly’s willingness to go above and beyond to fix the city’s schools. Connolly, an attorney and former teacher, chaired the City Council’s Education Committee while he was an at-large city councillor.

The firm’s other clients have included Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Congressman John Tierney (D-Salem), the American Federation of Teachers and EMILY’s List.

Many of the ads that did air during the race are available at this site put together by Liberty Square Group's Conor Yunits.

Connolly unsuccessfully faced off against then-state Rep. Marty Walsh in the general election.