The Best Science Fiction for Marketers – Part 2

Science Fiction can often predict the future. This is true not only for technology but for other societal trends as well. Our team at Strongpages started talking about how some of our favorite sci-fi stories have dealt with future of advertising and realized there were some great reads we’d love to share. Next up in this series:

“Just Do It” by Heather Lindsley

If you don’t have time to invest in a full length novel, check out the engaging short story, “Just Do It”, by Heather Lindsley (which has nothing to do with Nike). Here, Lindsley posits a future where advertising comes in the form of chemical darts, shot from the guns of roving guerilla marketers. In the opening sequence, the main character is hit by a dart that inflicts an intense craving for McDonald’s french fries. Fries she now absolutely must consume on the way to a job interview at the same company that makes the darts.

What starts out as an action play quickly turns into game of corporate espionage and Machiavellian intrigue, all focused on the advertising world. You can take this as a straightforward sci-fi story, as an allegory about regulation, or as an extended joke about ad targeting. Either way, it’s a great read.

This story was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and we found it in the Year’s Best SF #12.

Here’s the full text, presented for free by John Joseph Adams: http://www.johnjosephadams.com/brave-new-worlds/free-reads/just-do-it-heather-lindsley/

And if you’re feeling lazy, here’s a podcast containing a full reading of this great story: http://escapepod.org/2007/03/22/ep098-just-do-it/

Bonus:

This beautiful opening sequence from Blade Runner includes a fly-over of LA’s skyline in 2019 with ads for Pan Am, Cuisinart, and the Off-World Colonies: