Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign started running its first television commercial in Iowa and New Hampshire this week, roughly three months after Hillary Clinton’s campaign went on the air in the first two nominating states. I enclose below the video and annotated transcript for “Real Change,” which packs a surprising amount of Sanders’ personal background and political goals into 60 seconds, without being too wordy. A viewer who knew nothing about the candidate before watching this spot would come away with a decent grasp of where Sanders came from and why he is running for president. That’s not easy to accomplish in an introductory commercial, though it’s more doable in a minute than in 30 seconds.

When Sanders launched his campaign in April, few would have expected him to be able to go up on statewide television three months before the Iowa caucuses. Through an outpouring of grassroots support, Sanders has raised an astonishing amount of money. His campaign brought in $26 million during the third quarter, including about $2 million on September 30 alone and nearly another $2 million during the 24 hours after the first Democratic debate on October 13. (The new Republican establishment darling, Senator Marco Rubio, only raised about $6 million for his presidential campaign during the entire third quarter.) The Sanders tv ad refers to “over a million contributions.” In every version of his stump speech that I have seen this year, Sanders points out that the average donation to his campaign is a little more than $30, whereas some other candidates rely mostly on large contributions from millionaires.

Any comments about the Democratic presidential race are welcome in this thread. If you never read Paul Lewis’s profile of Sanders for The Guardian this summer, I highly recommend it.

First Bernie Sanders for president television commercial: “Real Change.”

My transcript:

Female voice-over: The son of a Polish immigrant, who grew up in a Brooklyn tenement. [Viewer sees image of Statue of Liberty; camera zooms in, then black-and-white photo of Bernie Sanders as a young child, superimposed on an image of a city street. Words on screen: Bernie Sanders Brooklyn, NY]

He went to public schools, then college, where the work of his life began. [Photo of Sanders as a teenage athlete (he was an excellent cross-country runner) superimposed on image of his high school. Words on screen: Bernie Sanders James Madison High School. Then viewer sees photo of him as a college student, with words Bernie Sanders University of Chicago.]

Fighting injustice and inequality, speaking truth to power. [image of old-fashioned television set with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on screen; viewer sees words Bernie Sanders Marched on Washington, 1963; then black-and-white photo of Sanders with others walking down a street.]

He moved to Vermont, won election and praise as one of America’s best mayors. [black-and-white photo of Sanders with arms raised in triumph after winning Burlington mayoral election; then black-and-white shot of Sanders that appeared in U.S. News and World Report, AMERICA’S BEST MAYORS, 12/21/87]

In Congress, he stood up for working families, and for principles: opposing the Iraq War, supporting veterans. [Now color footage of Sanders mingling with constituents, words on screen BERNIE SANDERS STANDING UP FOR WORKING FAMILIES; color photograph of Sanders looking serious and thoughtful; words on screen BERNIE SANDERS OPPOSING THE IRAQ WAR; then color footage of Sanders walking with veterans, words on screen BERNIE SANDERS SANDERS FOUGHT FOR OUR VETERANS Politico 7/2/15]

Now he’s taking on Wall Street and a corrupt political system. [images of New York City skyscrapers, words on screen BERNIE SANDERS TAKING ON WALL STREET & A CORRUPT POLITICAL SYSTEM]

Funded by over a million contributions. [words OVER A MILLION CONTRIBUTIONS against backdrop of 24 small, rapidly changing images of ordinary people who support Sanders]

Tackling climate change to create clean energy jobs. [footage of flooding from what looks like a hurricane; then footage of worker installing solar panels, words on screen BERNIE SANDERS CLEAN ENERGY JOBS]

Fighting for living wages, equal pay and tuition-free public colleges. [footage of Sanders with various supporters, words on screen BERNIE SANDERS FIGHTING FOR LIVING WAGES; then BERNIE SANDERS EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN WORKERS, then BERNIE SANDERS UNIVERSAL COLLEGE EDUCATION

Sanders speaks: “People are sick and tired of establishment politics and they want real change.” [viewer sees faces in the crowd, then Sanders speaking at a podium to an enormous audience in a packed venue, cheers from the crowd, people holding up Bernie for president signs; website BernieSanders.com on screen]

Female voice-over: Bernie Sanders. Husband, father, grandfather. [black-and-white family photos of Sanders with wife Jane, with children, and with large family group]

An honest leader, building a movement with you to give us a future to believe in. [image of TIME magazine cover featuring Sanders and words Bernie, Socialize this, America; then images of Sanders with a supporter in a wheelchair and more huge crowd scenes from his rally]

Sanders’ voice: I’m Bernie Sanders, and I approve this message. [Color photo of Sanders smiling at podium, looking out toward crowd; Sanders campaign logo and A FUTURE TO BELIEVE IN on screen]

Photo of Bernie campaign buttons by Greg Hauenstein. See more of his photography on Flickr.