Sales Pitch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sales Pitch is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. First published in Future Science Fiction magazine, June 1954. The premise of omni-present, intrusive and even aggressive advertising and marketing is as relevant as ever. In the end of the story, the character is driven mad by a robot who can forcefully market himself, and refuses to take no for an answer. The subject was of concern to Dick, and features in his early works such as The Man Who Japed. Dick was ahead of his time, advertising was still considered relatively innocous in the 1950's. A more subtle extrapolation of the idea is seen in J. G. Ballard's The Subliminal Man, written nearly 10 years later.
In 1978, Dick said of the story:
"When this story first appeared, the fans detested it. I read it over, perplexed by their hostility, and could see why: it is a superdowner story, and relentlessly so. Could I rewrite it, I would have it end differently. I would have the man and the robot, i.e. the fasrad, form a partnership at the end and become friends. The logic of paranoia of this story should be deconstructed into its opposite; Y, the human-against-robot theme, should have been resolved into null-Y, human-and-robot-against-the-universe. I really deplore the ending. So when you read the story, try to imagine it as it ought to have been written. The fasrad says, 'Sir, I am here to help you. The hell with my sales pitch. Let's be together forever.' Yes, but then I would have been criticized for a false upbeat ending, I guess. Still, the ending is not good. The fans were right."
[edit] External link
- Sales Pitch publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
| Short Stories by Phillip K Dick |
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The Cookie Lady | Stability | Roog | Project: Earth | Expendable (short story) | The Little Movement | The Preserving Machine | The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford | Beyond Lies the Wub | The Gun (short story) | The Skull (short story) | The Defenders | Mr. Spaceship | Piper In The Woods | The Infinities | The Indefatigable Frog | The Variable Man | The Crystal Crypt | The Builder | Meddler | Paycheck | Out In The Garden | The Great C | The King Of The Elves | Colony (short story) | Prize Ship | Nanny (short story) | Beyond the Door | Second Variety | Jon's World | The Cosmic Poachers | Some Kinds of Life | Progeny | Martians Come In Clouds | The Commuter | The World She Wanted | A Surface Raid | The Trouble with Bubbles | A Present for Pat | Breakfast at Twilight | Of Withered Apples | The Hood Maker | Human Is | The Impossible Planet (short story) | Adjustment Team | Impostor | James P. Crow | Planet For Transients | Small Town | Souvenir | Survey Team | Vulcan's Hammer | Prominent Author | Fair Game | The Hanging Stranger | The Eyes Have It | Time Pawn | The Golden Man | The Turning Wheel | The Last of the Masters | The Father-thing | Strange Eden | A Glass of Darkness | Tony and the Beetles | Null-O | Exhibit Piece | To Serve the Master | The Crawlers | Sales Pitch | Shell Game | Upon the Dull Earth | Foster, You're Dead! | Pay for the Printer | War Veteran | The Chromium Fence | Misadjustment | A World of Talent | Psi-man Heal My Child! | Service Call | Autofac | Captive Market | The Mold of Yancy | Minority Report | The Unreconstructed M | Recall Mechanism | Explorers We | War Game | If There Were No Benny Cemoli | Novelty Act | Waterspider | What the Dead Men Say | Orpheus with Clay Feet | Stand-by (short story) | The Days of Perky Pat | What'll We Do With Ragland Park? | Oh, to be a Blobel! | All We Marsmen | The War with the Fnools | Cantata 140 | A Game of Unchance | The Little Black Box | Precious Artifact | The Unteleported Man | Retreat Syndrome | Project Plowshare | Faith of our Fathers | We Can Remember It For You Wholesale | Holy Quarrel | Your Appointment Will Be Yesterday | Return Match | Not By Its Cover | The Story To End All Stories | The Electric Ant | A. Lincoln, Simulacrum | Cadbury, the Beaver Who Lacked | The Different Stages Of Love | A Little Something For Us Tempunauts | The Pre-persons | The Eye of The Sibyl | The Exit Door Leads In | Chains Of Air, Web Of Aethyr | Strange Memories Of Death | I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon | Rautavaara's Case | Fawn, Look Back | The Alien Mind | The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out Of Its Tree | Goodbye, Vincent | 11-17-80 | The Name of the Game is Death |
