Ron Paul's channeling Don LaFontaine. Intentionally, given the way his ad starts as if it were a movie trailer.
I would say that the most typical political ad right now runs along these lines:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp76ly2_NoIPaid for by the National Organization for ________, the Friends of _________, Citizens for ________, Citizens Against __________, or what-have-you. Because there's a bewildering profusion of PACs and 527s and 501(c)3s and so forth, and they've all got something to say. A lot of it, right now, is about how natural gas is a safe, environmentally friendly fuel that will make us energy independent. Coincidentally paid for by energy companies.
In terms of inter-campaign rivalry, you get more than a few about how the opposing candidate is some kind of dangerous lunatic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63h_v6uf0AoOr, based on some selectively edited video clips and snippets of vote history, "wrong for you, wrong for America."