Farouk Shami of Houston, who made a fortune in the hair care business, is the first Democrat running for governor to start airing TV ads.
And he plans to air a lot of them so voters can get to know the relatively unknown candidate.
It's not surprising, then, that his first ad is long on image and short on details.
The ad describes Shami's early business career this way: "Arriving with $71 in his pocket, a man came to Texas and turned a dream into a reality."
Shami made millions by founding Farouk Systems in Houston that makes hair care products. His ad claims his entrepreneurial skill would also create jobs as a politician.
"He just brought 1,200 jobs to Texas by moving his factories here from China," according to the ad.
But it doesn't mention any policy he'd back as governor to create new jobs.
And there are no solutions listed for his top issues: to improve schools, reform health care and protect the environment.
His campaign said details will come later.
But the ad also noticeably lacks two other factors.
One is that he doesn't speak -- an announcer does the talking.
Shami is Palestinian by birth and talks with an accent.
Will that be a factor with voters?
And secondly, the ad doesn't show he's running as a Democrat.
His campaign said the omission is because the ad's purpose is to introduce him to all voters.
But core Democratic voters may question his true colors when they learn that, in addition to Democrats, he's given money to Republican candidates and the Republican National Committee.
Shami says he's now a Democrat "to the bone," and criticizes Gov. Rick Perry for not taking stimulus money for jobless benefits, although he happily appeared with Perry in July when Shami announced the new manufacturing jobs.
Shami is expected to spend millions of dollars on campaign ads in Texas' roughly 20 media markets to spread his name to voters before the primary March 2.
