I am surprised I missed this. JenSense reported on this Wordpress plugin that makes your AdSense ads more attractive, hence noticeable, hence clickable back on June 27, 2006. She explains that it is not clear if the plugin would be in accordance or not with the AdSense TOS, so it is best to ask Google prior to placing them on your site. Below is a static image of what the plugin does from the plugin page itself at supriyadisw.
Yes, those are really beautiful.
There is an older and now newer thread at DigitalPoint Forums on the topic. Again, I would show the ads to a representative at Google, to get written permission. If they don't give it to you, then, I don't know. It is clear that the images, IMO, are separated enough from the ads - but who knows.
