NEW YORK (AdAge.com) ?- OK, so you?re thinking that maybe a certain dead celebrity is just the thing to help your upcoming advertising campaign really cut through the clutter. But how can you be sure that sufficient numbers of your target audience actually recognize or even like the deceased entertainer you plan to bring back to life via digital magic?

Selling dead celebrity image rights to advertisers is a major business, and new digital manipulation techniques promise to expand it further. Also see the DEAD CELEBRITY LIKEABILITY CHART at the bottom of this article.

Is there actually a marketing research firm somewhere that tracks consumer opinions about dead people?

Likeability data
Well, surprisingly, there is, and it?s headquartered in Manhasset, N.Y. From there, Marketing Evaluations has been providing advertising clients with data on the general familiarity and appeal of living celebrities since 1964. In recent years, it has branched out to include likeability data on dead celebrities as well.

Dead celebrities have caught on big in advertising since a 1991 Diet Coke commercial featuring Elton John performing with James Cagney, Louis Armstrong and Humphrey Bogart was such a success that Coca-Cola created a sequel featuring footage of other famous celebrities. Since then, technological advancements have allowed advertisers to seamlessly incorporate footage of dead celebrities into ads, such as John Wayne in a Coors campaign or, perhaps most memorably, to turn a dance by Fred Astaire into a Dirt Devil spot.

But while many of the ads have drawn criticism -- Roger Ebert called using portions of actors? performances in commercials ?grave robbery,