Negative Campaign Ads

When I was in France, I don't remember if during elections, candidates were allowed to have TV ads or not, but I am sure I've never seen a negative ad on any medium where basically the candidate does not talk about his program but rather attacks the other candidate. In the US, negative and personal critical ads are common even though people start to see them as bad strategy, since 2004 presidential campaign used them extensively on both sides.

The following ads are for Arnold Scharzenneger (R) and Phil Angelides (D) running for California governor.