Considering the spectacle that has become the 2012 presidential campaign, it's only natural that Hollywood and politics mix. No, I'm not talking about Barack Obama and the Democrats raising millions from Hollywood -- not this time at least. I'm talking about the ads.

My friend recently sent me the new Ron Paul ad and wanted my thoughts on it. His mind was already made up -- he loved it. But let's be fair -- to Ron Paul fans, Ron Paul can do nothing wrong. Anyway, that's a conversation for another day. Here's the commercial:

I think for the audience it is targeting, it is a pretty effective ad. It's timely, relevant and gets at the conservative anger over a (hopefully potential?) debt limit compromise. I especially like the "The 90s brought more compromises...more broken promises" voiceover that happens at the same time the video shows George H.W. Bush, famous for breaking his "Read my lips, no new taxes" pledge.

But what was really interesting to me was the concept of the spot: The movie preview. Sure, it's not necessarily an original idea (see other examples below). But it just worked here. It's a showdown between essentially two options: raise the limit, or don't raise the limit. It's clear where Paul stands on the issue, and this concept allows the viewer to see what Paul argues are the dire consequences if politicians don't listen to what he is saying. I am also a big fan of the "leader shots," the shots that make it look like you're looking up at Paul, in the positive section. While I'm generally not a fan of political contrast ads, this one did a good job laying out the differences. Let's be honest, though -- Ron Paul doesn't actually have a chance, but at least he has good ads, right?

Here are some other political commercials that incorporate the movie preview concept, some kind of effective, and some, well, not so effective. See for yourself below.