Blipvert
Encyclopedia
In the 1985 film Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future
and the first episode of the 1987 science fiction
television show Max Headroom
, blipverts were a new high-speed, concentrated, high-intensity television commercials lasting about three seconds. The term Blipvert was first coined by George Stone. Their purpose was to prevent channel-switching during standard-length commercials.
"Blipvert" is a portmanteau of the onomatopoeia blip, a brief sound, and advert
, the British abbreviation for advertisement. In his in-the-field newscast, "The What I Want To Know Show", investigative reporter Edison Carter exposes his own network's decision to broadcast them even though they kill people.
, which had already made the image of a padlock shot by a sharpshooter into a lasting advertising image with their ad in the Super Bowl
in 1974
, incorporated that video image, along with its logo
, in a one-second-long television commercial in 1998.
In May 2006, GE
introduced "One Second Theater," television commercials with additional material included as individual frames in the last second of the ad, for frame-by-frame viewing with digital video recorder
s. When viewed at normal speed, the frames flash by rapidly, much like blipverts.
Miller Brewing Company
aired a one-second ad during the Super Bowl XLIII
football game in February 2009. The ad featured Windell Middlebrooks, who had been featured in Miller High Life ads since 2006, standing in a warehouse filled with High Life boxes and quickly shouting "High Life!"
blipvert-Music Producer
In September 2009, music producer "blipvert" performed at Leeds Sonic Art Festival. During the performance the artist triggered a series of films using live performance software.
blipvert has worked on audio/visual projects with The Light Surgeons, http://www.thelightsurgeons.co.uk ,an established multimedia collective.
20 Minutes into the Future
Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future is a 1985 cyberpunk television movie created by Chrysalis Visual Programming Ltd. for Channel 4 in the UK to provide a back story for Max Headroom, a computer generated TV host...
and the first episode of the 1987 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television show Max Headroom
Max Headroom (TV series)
Max Headroom is a British-produced American science fiction television series by Chrysalis/Lakeside Productions that aired in the United States on ABC from March 1987 to May 1988. The series was based on the Channel 4 British TV pilot Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future...
, blipverts were a new high-speed, concentrated, high-intensity television commercials lasting about three seconds. The term Blipvert was first coined by George Stone. Their purpose was to prevent channel-switching during standard-length commercials.
"Blipvert" is a portmanteau of the onomatopoeia blip, a brief sound, and advert
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, the British abbreviation for advertisement. In his in-the-field newscast, "The What I Want To Know Show", investigative reporter Edison Carter exposes his own network's decision to broadcast them even though they kill people.
Real-life examples of compressed advertising
Master LockMaster Lock
Master Lock is an American company primarily known for developing and manufacturing padlocks, combination locks and related security products. Now an operating unit of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc., Master Lock Company LLC was formed in 1921 by locksmith-inventor Harry Soref, and is...
, which had already made the image of a padlock shot by a sharpshooter into a lasting advertising image with their ad in the Super Bowl
Advertising in the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League in the United States, is known for the high-profile advertisements that air during its television broadcast in the U.S. The broadcast typically ranks very highly in the Nielsen ratings, reaching more than 90 million viewers...
in 1974
1974 in sports
1974 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Piero Gros, Italy** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria-American football:...
, incorporated that video image, along with its logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
, in a one-second-long television commercial in 1998.
In May 2006, GE
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
introduced "One Second Theater," television commercials with additional material included as individual frames in the last second of the ad, for frame-by-frame viewing with digital video recorder
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
s. When viewed at normal speed, the frames flash by rapidly, much like blipverts.
Miller Brewing Company
Miller Brewing Company
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
aired a one-second ad during the Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
football game in February 2009. The ad featured Windell Middlebrooks, who had been featured in Miller High Life ads since 2006, standing in a warehouse filled with High Life boxes and quickly shouting "High Life!"
E-mail blipverts
In September 2006, term blipvert was used by security researcher Richi Jennings to describe new kind of image-based spam email with animated GIF pictures showing subliminal "BUY BUY BUY" messages for very short period of time (10-40 ms).blipvert-Music Producer
In September 2009, music producer "blipvert" performed at Leeds Sonic Art Festival. During the performance the artist triggered a series of films using live performance software.
blipvert has worked on audio/visual projects with The Light Surgeons, http://www.thelightsurgeons.co.uk ,an established multimedia collective.
External links
- GE One Second Theater
- Explanation of Blipverts from Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future20 Minutes into the FutureMax Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future is a 1985 cyberpunk television movie created by Chrysalis Visual Programming Ltd. for Channel 4 in the UK to provide a back story for Max Headroom, a computer generated TV host...