How could you possible draw any kind of line in the sand on how closely the advertising needs to be to the product being advertised? I don't think that's possible. For something tangible, like an iPhone, sure. Show the product, talk about its features, whatever. But lots of things aren't that tangible, or if you talked about them that way the people who saw the ad wouldn't even understand what was being offered.

#1 rule of sales is that people don't buy products, they buy transformation. The product is the tool to get that transformation, so it's often more effective and more relevant to pitch the end result (which can be something immeasurable like a feeling) instead of the actual product. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that.

The issue here is different entirely. It's making a person a brand rep without their consent, because they're conveniently deceased.