Back in the 1980s there was a TV show based on the character Max Headroom.
It was called (unsurprisingly) "Max Headroom."
Or sometimes, "Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into The Future."
Whatever.
Anyway, the pilot episode of this show (which also has a British version that is somewhat different) tells the origin story of Max Headroom.
It seems that 20 minutes into the future, ace news reporter Edison Carter is being shoved off of a story by his employers (Network 23) because he’s getting Too Close To The Truth.
The Truth is that the station’s major sponsor–the sinister ZikZak Corporation–has begun using a new advertising technique called "Blipverts," which are very, very short ads (just a few seconds) that have unpleasant side effects . . . like causing some of the viewers who see them to explode.
Eventually, sinister forces decide to bump off Edison Carter. They fail, but in the process a virtual quirky sorta-clone of Carter is created, and thus is born Max Headroom.
Why am I telling you this?
Because some advertisers are now considering using a new advertisting technique, which would be . . . you guessed it . . .
Edison Carter, call your office!
BTW, my favorite line from the Max Headroom show was the following explanation that one character gave to a couple of girls who had grown up in the TV-saturated, cyberpunk culture of the show: "It’s a book. It’s a non-volatile storage medium. It’s very rare. You should ‘ave one."
