September 30th, 1999
Real or Virtual? You Call It; Digital Sleight of Hand Can Put Ads Almost Anywhere
By Stuart Elliott
The New York Times
The magic now, though, is supplied by computers, in the form of digital technology that inserts electronic images like signs, brand logos and even product packages into live and previously taped television programs. The computer-generated ads are sufficiently lifelike that viewers see them as real even though they are anything but.
“This is just one way television is up to its neck in commercialism, and it’s getting worse by the day,” said Gary Ruskin, director of Commercial Alert, an organization in Washington founded last year by the consumer advocate Ralph Nader.