Not alone at home: bank ads began to be introduced into pirated films
The advertisements of the largest banks began to be embedded in pirated New Year's movies, Izvestia found out. For example, in the series "Home Alone" and "Harry Potter", the characters use the same voices between the lines to promote Alfa-Bank products. According to market sources, other companies also use this tool. According to lawyers, such advertising is illegal: it violates both the principles of promoting credit products and, for example, the rights of Russian dubbing actors. It can be organized through the purchase of a "package" for promotion in individual companies. How such advertising works is described in the Izvestia article.
Which films have bank ads embedded in them
Recordings of New Year's movies with embedded advertisements for banking products have appeared online, Izvestia found out. Some of the dialogues in them are overdubbed: Instead of original lines, the characters use their own voices to promote financial services.
Unlike the usual advertising, which runs in a separate video before or after the film, such integrations are embedded directly into the plot — advertising texts sometimes completely replace the original scenes, and it is impossible to skip them.
For example, recordings of the movie "Home Alone 2" were discovered online, in which individual dialogues were changed. In one episode, the main character, meeting Donald Trump in the hotel lobby, asks him: "Where can I order an Alfa-Bank children's card?" He answers: "Down the hall and to the left."
There are other examples of similar integrations. In the movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", in the scene of the protagonist's trip to the Gringots bank, the characters discuss the Alfa-bank credit card, after which they agree to visit the branch of the organization.
Integrations also affect plot-significant scenes. So, in the movie "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", the episode in which the main character shares memories of his dead parents with the teacher was replaced by an advertising message about deposits and savings accounts of the same bank.
Similar integrations are found in most of the films in the Harry Potter franchise, with the exception of the last three installments. Izvestia contacted Alfa-Bank's press service with questions about which other films advertised the company's products and how legitimate it was.
— A similar technique is used by non-bank projects. For example, in December 2025, a version of the movie "Zootopia 2" was mentioned with the integration of another IT product through modified replicas," said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
The editors contacted several banks, whose advertisements presumably appear in other films. Izvestia also sent inquiries about the legality of such advertising integrations to the Bank of Russia. He recommended contacting the FAS and the Interior Ministry. They did not promptly comment on the topic.
How to order the integration of advertising into a movie
In most cases, such integrations are bought as a "package", and not as an independent product, explained a source of Izvestia in the advertising market. As a rule, we are talking about a broader creative campaign in which such integration into a foreign film is given as one of the promotion tools.
— Brands cannot legally integrate into the content of companies that have left us, although the audience remains there. Advertisers are forced to resort to such workarounds and actually sponsor pirated movies," the Izvestia source claims.
The order is usually carried out with the participation of advertising agencies or aggregator platforms that take over the entire placement cycle, said Georgy Zhitkov, producer and member of the board of Moscow Business Russia. The customer approves the general concept and messages. The advertiser does not work with each individual film or channel directly, the source of Izvestia in the advertising market also confirmed.
In 2022, Uralsib Bank was already convicted of sponsoring pirated content. Such reports appeared in the media — it was noted that the advertisement of this credit institution appeared in a pirated copy of the mini-series "Obi-Wan Kenobi", which was not officially released in Russia. The bank noted that its contractors themselves determine the type of content for advertising.
Such campaigns can really be very effective, said the Marketing Director of Dom Bank.Russian Federation" Denis Zverik. Audience involvement in the plot increases the memorability of the message, and artificial intelligence (AI) allows you to scale the format with minimal cost, quickly adapt it to different films and update texts without re-filming or the participation of actors.
Dom Bank.The Russian Federation" does not advertise in illegal content and does not integrate advertising messages into films without the consent of copyright holders, they said.
At the same time, the advantages are obvious: with the help of neural networks, it is possible to create a product placement in any scene of the film, noted Georgy Zhitkov. The costs are low: writing an advertisement costs 5-15 thousand rubles, the integration itself costs about 50-55 thousand, the rest is like regular online advertising (30-100 rubles per 1 thousand views). It's much cheaper than TV ads, and getting into the audience is almost "sniper-like."
In short, it would seem that everyone got the desired result: the bank saved money, the platform started working, and the viewer watched a foreign film for free. Not a single Russian copyright holder was injured, concluded Georgy Zhitkov.
Does such advertising violate the laws of the Russian Federation
Any advertising on the Internet since September 2022 requires labeling, explained Denis Goldman, an economist and independent PR consultant. Without it, advertising can be labeled as hidden, and this is a violation of the law.
The Russian authorities also require that ads be recognizable and not mislead the viewer, said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. Disguising it as character dialogue increases the risk of being classified as unscrupulous and hidden.
In addition, certain strict rules apply to the promotion of loans and financial services, said Vladimir Chernov. For example, messages about credit cards should indicate the full cost of the product.
Let's add copyright infringement here — embedding advertising in a film without the consent of the copyright holder, Denis Goldman clarified. For example, Warner Bros. It has suspended licensing of its franchises (including those about Harry Potter) in Russia after 2022, so distributors cannot have any legal rights to change content.
— There is a separate risk if the voices of Russian dubbing actors are used during neurosynthesis without the consent of the copyright holders and performers. This is already a zone of related rights and civil lawsuits," added Vladimir Chernov.
Placing ads in pirated content is illegal in itself, said a junior lawyer at the Pen Bar Association. & Paper by Anna Lysenko. This threatens the responsibility of both the customer, the manufacturer, and the distributor.
In general, fines for violations of the law "On Advertising" for legal entities range from 100 to 500 thousand rubles, said Anna Lysenko. For copyright infringement — another 30 to 40 thousand rubles, Denis Goldman added.
The FAS is likely to take a strict position on this issue, since according to the totality of all factors this is a violation, Anna Lysenko believes. Nevertheless, fines are often not comparable to the possible profits from the promotion of financial products, so they do not always deter banks by themselves, Pen concluded. & Paper.
How effective is the integration of advertising into movies?
The Digital Budget analytical Center has recorded that in January–August 2025, the volume of advertising budgets on pirate sites decreased by 56% compared to last year, economist Denis Goldman recalled. Advertisers are moving away from such placement: reputational losses outweigh the savings.
When a user sees that a favorite character suddenly starts praising a credit card in the middle of a dramatic scene, this does not cause a desire to design a product, but irritation. As a result, the company receives a wave of negativity in social networks, the expert said.
The effect of such campaigns is vivid, but short-term: recognition is growing due to surprise and reaching a wide audience, Vladimir Chernov added. However, there is also a high risk of a backlash: viewers perceive interference in the plot as deception, and trust is a key asset for banks.
At the same time, it is simply impossible to watch individual films legally in Russia now — many viewers are forced to turn to such platforms, added economist Andrey Barkhota. In these circumstances, the distribution of pirated content becomes largely inevitable, and the attitude towards protecting the rights of foreign copyright holders, who themselves have suspended licensing and distribution in the Russian Federation, is less clear.
In any case, Russian business must adhere not only to the law, but also to ethical standards, according to PR consultant Denis Goldman. The use of questionable promotion channels undermines the credibility of domestic companies in general.
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