Blipvert

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A very short television commercial, typically lasting only a few seconds, designed to catch the viewer's attention quickly
2. An extremely brief broadcast advertisement that flashes past so fast it barely registers with the audience
3. A fleeting TV ad of only a few seconds, made to grab attention in an instant before the program resumes

Etymology: "Blipvert" is a blend of "blip" and "advert," and it was coined in the 1985 film "Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future," where the word described a dangerous form of television advertising. In the story, these ultra-fast commercial spots were so compressed that they could overload the nervous systems of certain viewers. The fictional idea was a satire of the rapid, attention-grabbing ads that were becoming common on television. The blend works through its parts: "blip" suggests a brief flicker on a screen, and "advert" is the shortened form of "advertisement," so the new word packed a whole commercial into a momentary jolt.

Synonyms: commercial, advert, ad, spot