Sales Pitch by Philip K. Dick:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Marvelously caustic short story describes a world in which advertising and sales was relentlessly performed by autonomous robots. Dick was repulsed by what marketers today call "interruption style" advertising and he lets them have it with both barrels in this story.

Select an invention:

Commute Ship
Spacecraft used for traversing daily grind between Earth and the planet you work on.

Hypno-Motor Control
A means of controlling the body remotely, cutting off the need for local control (ie, by your mind).

Plastirobe - variations in opacity
A dress that varies in opacity by distance.

Retinal Vid-Screen - implanted news screen
A tiny display surgically implanted directly in the retina of the eye.

Sales Robot (Robot Salesman) - a robot makes the sales pitch
Fully automated robots giving untiring, incessant sales pitches to customers.

Self-Selling Robot
A robot that sells itself.

Spacelanes Traffic Jam
Fanciful description of commuters in space.

Visual Ad
An advertisement that forces its way directly into the brain of the viewer.

 

Technovelgy.com is devoted to the creative inventions of science fiction authors and movie makers. Look for the Science Fiction Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary of Science Fiction Inventions, the Timeline of Science Fiction Inventions, or see what's New.
Find
new authors and technologies - Shop for yourself, your library and your lab.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction
in the News

Amazing Photonic
re: Cordwainer Smith
(3/17/2026)

Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
re: Cordwainer Smith
(3/17/2026)

Rogue AI Replicated Itself
re: Gregory Benford
(3/15/2026)

HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
re: Herbert Goldstone
(3/13/2026)

Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
re: Harl VIncent
(2/11/2026)

When AI Takes Its First Breath
re: Various
(2/9/2026)

Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners
re: Ridley Scott
(2/7/2026)

The Morphing Wheel And The Smartwheel
re: Neal Stephenson
(2/5/2026)

Transporting Antimatter
re: Jack Williamson
(2/3/2026)

Polish Turns Your Nail Into A Stylus
re: Cordwainer Smith
(2/1/2026)

I Wish This Plaudit Pin Was More Like A Wristpad
re: Kim Stanley Robinson
(1/29/2026)

World's Largest Teleoperated Arm
re: Robert Heinlein
(1/27/2026)

Japan's AI Buddharoid Automonks
re: Ray Naylor
(1/25/2026)

MIT Computerized Bionic Leg Is Part Of The User
re: Charles Recour
(1/23/2026)

More SF in the News

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.