While styles of advertising have changed radically over the decades, its structures rarely do. In print, many of today's most successful direct response ads are based on concepts that date back to at least the 1920s. And regarding TV ads, Slate's ad critic Seth Stevenson has assembled the 12 "master formats" of television commercials:

Update: And speaking of advertising....

As Jon Ham has pointed out, “Except for the advertising, a newspaper reader from another planet would never know there was a private sector,” as we are subjected mostly to the daily activities of the President, Congress, and groups claiming victimhood seeking government action. Emerging New Media initiatives like Fox Business Channel, Conde Nast Portfolio, and Slate’s new venture are now rushing to fill this century-old void. Finally, news outlets will be making our business their business.