With Coca-Cola's selection of a digital, computer-constructed "spokesthing" named Max Headroom, came a dramatic shift toward a reliance on high technology to deliver the advertising message. Headroom was developed in Britain, and made his debut on the Home Box Office television network in 1985. Coca-Cola then bought the rights to Headroom, and by the spring of 1986 the Max Headroom phenomenon had helped the company regain the market it lost the year before with the introduction of New Coke. Although the Headroom character was not originally designed for advertising purposes, its application soon became apparent. Never before in the history of television has a true child of the medium come forward to pitch products. In doing so, Headroom blurs the distinction between the message and the messenger. He is treated like a celebrity, appears on talk shows, and now has his own interview show that is unrelated to his advertisements. Audiences react to Headroom well, and importantly, remember his association with Coke, which makes him Coca-Cola's perfect "spokeshead." The introduction of other Headroom-like commercials worldwide suggests a trend in the design and production of television-specific commercials. (Appended are: (1) a Max Headroom chronology, (2) notes, (3) references--divided into books, articles, authorless articles, and videos, (4) a descritpion of the audiovisual aids that accompany the talk, and (5) a selection of newspaper cartoons featuring Max Headroom.) (Author/SKC)