One has a handful of television spots, each with a different theme; the other crams everything into one TV ad.

But with precious days left before Tuesday's election, Dave Buhler and Ralph Becker have swamped the airwaves to sway extra voters in the Salt Lake City mayor's chase.

Here is a look at what the politicians are peddling on the tube.

About the ads: Actually, he only has one. But the TV spot does well to load Becker backers of every stripe onto the screen.

Narrated by fellow Democratic Rep. Phil Riesen, a former TV anchor, the ad opens with a sea of miniature heads floating above a grid of the capital. One by one, the supporters praise Becker for his blueprints on education, growing a green city, fixing downtown or his ability to bring people together.

"I'm voting for Ralph Becker because he'll stand up for our values," Jackie Biskupski, an openly gay state lawmaker announces.

The spot features former state Sen. Karen Hale - twice - Democratic Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder, one-time mayoral candidate John Renteria and former first lady Norma Matheson. It also spotlights a crop of Democratic legislators representing the city.

As the talking heads take turns, a running list of endorsers scrolls across the bottom of the screen.

Becker's ad ends with a still-shot of the candidate flanked by openly gay state Sen. Scott McCoy and longtime legislative matriarch Paula Julander.

About the strategy: Gone is the cartoonish "Blueprint Man" from the primary campaign. Instead, the urban planner hopes to display a wide swath of support - without ever naming Buhler - while dropping references to his wonkish initiatives.

But the Democratic lawmaker also is preaching to his progressive base. Becker courts the women's vote with Matheson, the gay vote with Biskupski and McCoy, and, by using Hale prominently, tries to emphasize that Buhler was defeated (by Hale) in his 1998 state Senate re-election bid.

By grouping key members of his key Democratic demographic, Becker hopes to show a united - perhaps impenetrable - front in a city that hasn't elected a GOP mayor in more than three decades.

About the ads: Buhler is back before the no-frills white board - this time in a serious suit and tie - to talk up his credentials and take swipes at Becker.

Four separate ads feature Buhler as sincere star, albeit with a cartoonish background chime tagged by the Ben-Stein-like "Ferris Bueller" burp.

In one, Buhler notes his dad was a cop and cites his police-union endorsement. He pledges to hire 20 new cops and install crime cameras in Pioneer Park. And he tweaks Becker for never sponsoring a public-safety bill during 11 years on Capitol Hill.

"I might be the underdog," Buhler boasts, "but I've got the police on my side."

He also asks viewers to look at his effectiveness during the past eight years on the City Council. And he challenges the notion that Salt Lake City is "too liberal to vote for someone like me."

Buhler vows to make downtown vibrant "with lots of restaurants and night life." And he reminds residents that, while Becker never fought for looser liquor laws, he pushed the bill to allow both credit cards and checks at liquor stores.

"Vote for the Doer, not the Dreamer," each screen reads at the end.

About the strategy: High-minded political discourse this ain't. But that's the point. Buhler wants to be branded as the everyman who will keep the streets safe, patch the potholes and give night life new life.

He still maintains the reasonable-guy mantra from the primary, but Buhler's target has morphed from Mayor Rocky Anderson to Becker, suggesting the latter wandered for a decade on Capitol Hill as an empty suit. Buhler wants voters to see the contest as committed pragmatist vs. aloof planner.

He also hits his more liberal foe on opposite fronts - booze and police. Buhler argues Becker won't do enough to loosen the former nor strengthen the latter.

djensen@sltrib.com