The Impact

The ad marked a new moment for Mrs. Clinton, who, even as she is locked in a primary battle with Senator Bernie Sanders, has turned her attention to a general election matchup with Mr. Trump. He has been a frequent target of the Democratic candidates on the campaign trail — Mrs. Clinton made not-so-subtle references to Mr. Trump in an ad she began running in New York two weeks ago. But before now, her campaign has not displayed his name or mentioned him directly in a paid ad.

Takeaway

By focusing on the Republican front-runner, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign is projecting an aura of victory, and the ad has a general-election feel to it. But the closing seconds bring the argument back to her primary opponent, as the narrator says, “With so much at stake, she’s the one tough enough to stop Trump.”

Changing channels …

Check the Credits

The faces are familiar: Erica Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner, who died after police officers put him in a chokehold; the entertainer Harry Belafonte; the activists Shaun King and Linda Sarsour, all speaking in support of Mr. Sanders on civil rights issues. But if the scenes and camera angles feel slightly different, it’s because the campaign brought in a ringer — Spike Lee — to produce it.

Earshot

The ad is titled “Crazy.” It opens with a picture of Senator Ted Cruz looking mischievous and Mr. Trump with mouth agape, seemingly mid-rant. But leveling the actual “crazy” accusation is not the role of the narrator in this ad from New Day for America, the “super PAC” supporting Gov. John Kasich of Ohio. That falls to Patsy Cline, whose 1961 recording of Willy Nelson’s “Crazy” provides the ad’s soundtrack. The rest of the lyric: “I’m crazy for trying, and crazy for crying. And I’m crazy for loving you,” is barely audible under the narrator’s voice.

Going Local

The New York Post and The Daily News are chock-full of headlines ripping Mr. Cruz for his statement about “New York values.” But, in an enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend moment, Mr. Cruz used more than 20 covers and stories from the two tabloids, most highly critical of Mayor Bill de Blasio, to offer a counter illustration to audio of Mr. Trump praising the mayor, saying he will make New York “great.” The ad closes with a line that may soon find its way to Mr. Cruz’s stump speech: “Perhaps Donald doesn’t know what the word ‘great’ means.”