A few years ago, I spent my Saturdays at the local movie theater watching my favorite hero, Buck Rogers, defeating the forces of evil as he pursued his quest to make the world a better place for all men, women and children.

Buck had some really neat-o ( old world lingo for "cool", "bad" etc.) gadgets to help him. His galactic timepiece would not only tell him what time it was anywhere in the universe, it would allow him to communicate with Dick Tracy (another guy with a neat-o watch), the worlds most technically advanced super cop.

Buck and Dick had some really neat "stuff" and I dreamed of the day way off in the future when, just maybe, "normal " people might be able to have the same kind neat things to make their lives as exciting as Buck and Dick.

How time flies! Buck and Dick are only memories of an impressionable young boy, but their "neat-o stuff" is here.

Marketing in Buck's time was limited to the media as we knew it. Radio, the local newspaper, the movie theater, Sears Catalog and a little direct mail (from pushy firms that sent you stuff you didn't want). Television was just a dream for many. However, a few marketing executives saw some benefit in sponsoring Gorgeous George and his midnight mat madness.

Firms that were successful were those that had the foresight to go directly to the customer. Companies like Fuller Brush, Watkins Products, and Sealtest had regular routes. Their salesmen (no salespersons then... PC meant personal crisis) were part of the neighborhood. This was the first internet. This method of marketing allowed the seller to go directly to the buyer with products. It provided instant gratification for both. Service was something that came with each sale and was usually provided by the person who sold you the product.

As the future neared and life styles changed, it was harder to get to folks at home. Mom and dad both were at work and the kids were at aftercare or some other holding tank.

Mass media become the hip term for savvy marketers. Our airways, mail boxes and, yes even our telephones, became weapons of the marketing army. The number of magazines and catalogs seemed to multiply tenfold within days. Television had more ads than programs and Hulk Hogan had replaced old George. The door-to-door seller had been replaced with speed dialers and headsets. Marketing executives, it seemed, had found every way possible to reach us. Mass marketing had become accepted as the way to sell the most product to the greatest number of people in the shortest possible time.

In the mid 1980s, the computer entered our lives and some crazy people (the ones who remembered Buck and Dick) saw a new marketing tool that could reach people even when they weren't home. It would ask them questions that could be answered at their leisure (not during dinner or other awkward times). It could provide two-way communication. People would be able to sit at home and not only talk, but actually see someone miles, or continents away (just like Buck and Dick). The computer would be used as a learning tool to make us aware of other neat-o gadgets to make our lives more comfortable... like cellular phones, laptop computers, modems, fax machines and watches that function as personal secretaries.

Serious marketers are using all of these tools to get their message to the public. These are the futurists who are on the cutting edge of technology. Where will they go next? Will we be banking through our television sets or ordering groceries with ATM cards that will arrange for delivery and debit our account at the same time? Will the Home Shopping Network begin selling automobiles or perhaps even homes? Will our watches function as personal reminders as well as weather forecasting instruments? Savvy marketers will always be one step ahead of the masses.

Buck is back!... What's next?