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Mirriad’s technology was designed to add branded images to finished TV and film footage, creating virtual product placements without reshooting a scene. The idea is that a placement could be changed later, but whether it can be used depends on rights, approvals, the scene itself and the platform carrying the content. Reports about Mirriad’s deployments and other companies’ plans are dated examples—not proof that a particular service is available today.
What virtual product placement changes
Traditional product placement is arranged during production: a product, logo or other brand image is present when a scene is filmed. Virtual product placement instead adds or replaces imagery in post-production, after the footage has been shot. It is sometimes called product insertion or retroactive product placement.
The BBC’s April 2021 report showed two stills from a Chinese program: one without an advertisement in the upper-left corner and another with a Coca-Cola ad digitally added there. The report said Mirriad’s technology was being used by a Chinese streaming website and described the possibility of switching placements weeks, months or years later. That example illustrates the concept; it does not establish that every shot can be altered invisibly, cheaply or at scale. BBC News, 18 April 2021
How the insertion is made
Mirriad CEO Stephan Beringer described the system as reading depth, motion and fabric so it could place new imagery into a scene. In the BBC interview, he said: “The technology can ‘read’ an image, it understands the depth, the motion, the fabric, anything. So you can introduce new images that basically the human eye does not realise has been done after the fact, after the production.” This is the company executive’s description of the technique, not an independent performance test. The work is broadly a post-production compositing process; calling it CGI does not mean every insertion is a simple, universally convincing computer-generated overlay. BBC News
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Futurism’s April 2021 coverage of Mirriad also reported a claim by rival Ryff that placements could be tailored to individual viewers. That differs from a placement that is simply inserted into a version of the finished program, but it was a company claim in dated coverage—not evidence that individualized placements are broadly available now. Futurism, 20 April 2021
Why media companies and advertisers might use it
For advertisers, post-production insertion could create brand inventory in footage that already exists. A content owner might be able to offer a placement without requiring a product to be on set during filming, and a brand image could in principle be swapped for another one in a later version. The commercial model is therefore a service involving advertisers, content owners and rights holders—not a consumer product that viewers install.
The market context in the BBC report is historical: citing PQ Media, it put the global value of product placement across films, television programs and music videos at $20.6 billion in 2019 and reported 15% value growth that year. Those are 2019 figures, not a current market-size estimate or growth rate. BBC News
In May 2022, TechCrunch reported that Amazon’s virtual product placement tool was operating in beta and that Peacock had announced “In-Scene” ads, both described as digital insertions made after production. The report also quoted Fabel Entertainment CEO and Bosch: Legacy executive producer Henrik Bastin calling the approach a “game-changer” for allowing producers to consider placements after the final cut. That is a production-side opinion, not proof of audience response or campaign results. The announcements show that the idea extended beyond Mirriad, but they are not confirmation of present-day availability. TechCrunch, 17 May 2022
What determines whether a placement can go ahead
Rights and approvals
The technology does not grant permission to modify or distribute a show or film. The relevant rights holder must have authority to approve the change, and permissions may vary by territory, platform and distribution arrangement. Existing brand deals, talent obligations and contractual restrictions can also matter.
Amazon Studios’ production guidance illustrates how involved approvals can be: for the Amazon/MGM productions and placements it covers, it calls for pre-approval from creative, production, legal, and promotions or partnerships stakeholders, legal review and a placement tracker. It also says placements cannot take creative control away from the studio and restricts endorsement obligations. This is guidance for the specified productions, not a universal rule for every rights holder. Amazon Studios production guidance
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A 2022 account of Accenture Song’s work described country-by-country regulation, rights, stakeholder coordination and business barriers as challenges for scaling dynamic placements on television. The same account noted the need for a product to make sense in the scene. The Drum, 17 May 2022
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Scene fit and the integrity of the work
A brand can be technically composited into an image and still feel wrong. Its product, style and placement need to fit the scene’s period, setting, tone and audience. An obvious insertion can distract; a historically out-of-place logo can change how a scene reads. The BBC quoted film critic Anne Billson raising both the copyright question and concern about tampering with a work: “I would be interested in finding out about the legal angle vis-à-vis digital reworking of a copyrighted work, or whether the advertisers would have to buy the film before they tampered with it,” she said. BBC News
Proof of effectiveness
A demonstration or vendor case example can show that an insertion was made; it does not by itself establish that viewers noticed, accepted or remembered it, or that an advertiser achieved a particular return. TechCrunch reported Amazon’s claimed results for a demonstrated M&M’s placement, but that single reported result should not be generalized to other campaigns. TechCrunch
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Companies and availability: what dated reports establish
Mirriad is the company at the center of the 2021 story. Other dated and vendor-published examples describe related services, but those descriptions should not be mistaken for independent proof of current reach or availability.
- ReelBlend: Its advertiser page describes AI and computer-vision-based post-production insertions into existing footage, including archive films, and presents a Rocket Eyewear example. This is the vendor’s own description; the page does not independently establish scale, inventory or campaign outcomes. ReelBlend, “For Advertisers”
- Rembrand: The company describes a generative-AI post-production placement service. Its post about outside investment was published on 18 December 2024 and refers to an announcement dated June 2023; these are company-reported details, not independent confirmation of present availability. Rembrand, 18 December 2024
The sources establish a real advertising-technology category and several companies’ descriptions or dated announcements. They do not establish a single universal service that a viewer can enable, nor do they confirm current availability of every platform or vendor offering.
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