In the midst of a very long campaign, it can sometimes seem as though all election ads offer the same mix of seriousness and negativity. But some candidates are willing to take us in a different direction.

Here's a look at some of the more interesting ads and videos out there.

Just when you thought Canadian election ads were predictable and boring, along comes this B.C. candidate. In an epic, low-budget commercial, we see Wyatt Scott riding a Canada goose, slaying a dragon, talking about "indigenous people" in front of a Mayan backdrop, instantly growing a beard, and using laser beams from his eyes to destroy a giant robot.

At the other end of the zaniness spectrum is this Ontario candidate's ad.

What you might notice first in this nomination ad is the supercilious soundtrack. But what really moves it off the wall is the giddy, nonsensical editing style. Taken together, those production values easily overwhelm what the candidate is saying.

Now let's move back to the 2013 B.C. provincial election. The poll-leading opposition leader was being pummeled by attack ads, so he responded with this playful attack on himself.

Perhaps B.C. voters didn't catch the irony, because Adrian Dix went from poll leader to election loser.

Breaking through and being noticed in an election campaign is extremely difficult. But if your ad demonstrates little else than your ability to get attention, you haven't really given viewers a reason to vote for you.

However, sometimes a candidate is forced to match the zaniness of a front-runner, as in the current U.S. Republican presidential primaries. Here, Ted Cruz tries to trump Donald Trump's oafish absurdity by wrapping bacon around the barrel of a machine gun, then firing it until the bacon is cooked.

Of course, U.S. politicians are much better at kookiness than Canadians. Last summer, a Florida Republican Congressional candidate ran an ad in which he graphically compared career politicians to dirty diapers.

He went on to lose the election, unlike this Republican who successfully ran for the U.S. Senate last November.

Sometimes running silly ads can win candidates extra attention and votes. But if those ads don't also communicate substantial content, the candidates themselves can end up looking silly.