Sit down. Hold on tight. What we‘re about to tell you will change the way you think. At the very least, it will change the way you watch TV. It‘s the kind of head-scratching, mind-blowing, “did I really just see that?” discovery that we‘re bringing to your attention. The age–old practice of advertising is getting revamped. Redone. It‘s time traveling. And you won‘t want to miss it. Because the truth is, you probably already have.

Watching re-run episodes of a television show can be a mindless activity. You may be able to predict every detail as it passes due to your extensive viewing count. Or, maybe you‘ve just turned on the tube for the sake of some background noise, and you’ve never seen the episode that dates back a few years. But regardless, there might be something in there that despite how frequent of a watcher you are, it‘ll pass right by your eye.

Take for example, a recently aired re–run episode of How I Met Your Mother, the quirky comedy that frequents Lifetime late night. Viewers of the episode caught an unusual observation – behind one of the characters in the scene is an ad for the recently released summer movie, Zookeeper, placed on the back of a magazine that had not previously existed in the original episode. The episode itself was made in 2007, yet Zookeeper just hit theaters this summer. Yes, it‘s possible.

Current advertisements are being digitally inserted into re–run episodes of TV shows, normally so subtle and understated that no one would even notice they were there, appearing in the background or on a TV screen within a scene. It‘s a practice called virtual advertising, digitally altering and inserting ads into older episodes of programs, and it‘s been happening more frequently in recent years.

With the rise of TiVo and DVR–esque technologies increasing their presence in households, people are more apt to fast-forward commercials, thus skipping over advertisements all together. In an effort to get these advertisements noticed in a more creative and effective way, marketers turned to virtual advertising to stand out in the crowded world of advertisements.

But with these virtual ads making their way into our TV watching routine, an important question still lingers – do they work? Some say the ads take on the role of subliminal messages. Some say they‘ll spark controversy and diminish trust of viewers. But brands and advertisers alike stand firm in believing that the more speculation surrounding these ads, the more attention is drawn to the brand. Which, incidentally, is the point.

Some have even taken it one step further with virtual product placement – digitally inserting brand-name products into TV episodes from long ago. Cereal boxes, coffee cups, and soda cans have become the playing ground for virtual product placements, and the brand you see featured on one episode, becomes another the next time that episode airs. Welcome to the world of digital, folks. Be on the lookout and tell us, have you seen any virtual advertisements recently?

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