A very complex topic. I didn't have the slightest clue that Ross's image was used for an ad after his death, and it doesn't feel right. I wonder how much time does it have to pass for your image to become part of the public domain. But again, in this case, Mountain Dew worked with Ross' foundation, so in a way, his wishes were considered (?). I don't know, it's a strange world.

I recently wrote about something similar by the way: hologram artists. Many deceased legends are being revived through hologram tech, and they're doing music tours (well, before the pandemic at least):

https://medium.com/predict/hologram-artists-the-future-of-live-performance-9851d2e02ae1

In this case, the artist's image is being used for a similar goal than when he/she was alive: playing music. But that's just the beginning as we see with your article.

Anyway, thanks for sharing about this fascinating topic!