MADISON, Wis. -- Until Election Day, TV political commercials will fill the screen, but the techniques used in many ads are the same. WISC-TV lists four things voters can look for to help understand the ads and who's behind the ads.

Tip 1

First, a popular phrase at the end of so-called "issue ads" is, "Call Representative Green," or "Call Governor Doyle." WISC-TV reported the ads are really telling voters not to vote for that person.

The ads are paid for by independent groups not affiliated with the candidates. By law, the ad can't say "vote for" or "vote against" and these "issue" ads don't. Because if they did, the group's paying for the ads would be subject to campaign finance rules and limits. The groups would also be forced to say who's funding their organization -- right now, they don't.

A WISC-TV analysis found it's pretty obvious the ads are trying to influence voters to vote for or against a particular candidate in many cases.

Tip 2

A second common tactic is to exaggerate voting records. For instance, in 2004, candidate Tim Michels ran a TV ad saying Sen. Russ Feingold voted repeatedly for higher taxes.

"Feingold voted over 200 times for higher taxes," the ad stated. "Want lower taxes, vote Tim Michels."

A WISC-TV analysis, at the time, found that claim misleading because Michels included procedural votes, large budget votes, votes on amendments and votes against tax cuts. The true number of times Feingold voted to raise taxes wasn't 200, but instead six.

Tip 3

A third tip -- beware of happy people.

In a 2004 campaign ad, then-candidate Russ Darrow used his grandkids and their cute faces to try to get votes. "He loves cars, loves Wisconsin, the Packers. He loves us," states the grandkids in the ad. "We call him g-pa. I call grandpa. He's more fun than my Dad."

These ads are nothing more than the candidate with smiling family and friends and tell you nothing about what he or she would do if elected. The feel-good ads are often more about what you see than the claims made in the ad.

Tip 4

Visuals are a big part of the fourth item to watch for -- the unflattering photo.

In a recent, independent group ad attacking Mark Green, the candidate is shown in bad light and looking down.

A recent Coalition for America's Family ad used pictures of Richard Nixon in black and white to make him look more corrupt. And in 2004, a state Senate candidate used former Sen. Chuck Chvala's mug shot to try to tie Chvala to his opponent.