First Wilson TV Ad Airs in Test Markets : Politics: Spot portrays GOP presidential candidate as tough, unafraid of controversy. Broad campaign themes are emphasized.

The first television commercial for Gov. Pete Wilson’s presidential campaign began airing in at least five national test markets last week, portraying the GOP candidate as a tough leader unafraid of controversial decisions on such issues as illegal immigration and affirmative action.

A narrator in the macho-sounding ad repeats the word “courage” three times in 60 seconds, along with “guts,” “power” and a reference to Wilson as a “determined ex-Marine.”

“While others talk about these issues, this determined ex-Marine has had the courage to do something about them,” the narrator says.

The commercial underlines some of the broad campaign themes Wilson plans to use in the presidential campaign--what Wilson portrays as issues of fairness and personal responsibility. And it assigns the governor a record of accomplishments that is intended to contrast him with his leading GOP rivals--Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas.

In addition to highlighting Wilson’s opposition to affirmative action and illegal immigration, the commercial addresses the governor’s support for California’s “three strikes” sentencing law and his role in cutting state government spending.

Wilson’s critics have accused him of lacking a moral compass to guide his political convictions, causing him to seek political advantage by following public opinion polls on emotional issues. The ad seeks to combat that impression by having Wilson directly face the camera and say, “I am guided by four fundamental principles”: personal responsibility, rewarding merit, limited government and family values.

Only one other Republican presidential candidate--former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander--has publicly aired a television commercial in the GOP race. At the time, Alexander’s move was considered strategically questionable because it is several months until the first presidential voting begins next February in Iowa and New Hampshire.

In Wilson’s case, the governor’s strategists believe that they have a powerful message that they have been unable to communicate because of a series of delays and setbacks.

Independent political analyst William Schneider agreed, saying that Wilson’s campaign could risk political damage if he does not introduce himself to voters in key states before his opponents are able to level their attacks.

“Voters in New Hampshire do not have the foggiest idea who Pete Wilson is,” Schneider said. “He is the governor of California, which, as far as they’re concerned, might as well be the president of Mars. So therefore, television is, in Wilson’s case, absolutely essential.”

Wilson’s campaign began airing the commercial in some small, remote television markets last week. It is scheduled to run through the end of this week, after which campaign strategists plan to measure its effectiveness with surveys of the voters in those markets.

The ads are being broadcast in four politically distinct regions: the Northeast (Bangor, Me., and parts of New York), the South (South Carolina), the Midwest and the West (Arizona).

Campaign officials were unwilling to provide details about their television strategy. But if the commercial proves effective, they said it is likely to be broadcast in key presidential battlegrounds such as Iowa and New Hampshire in the next few weeks.