[Headline] Get the latest movies, the hottest networks and comments like "Dad, can we talk about how it works later?" [Body Copy] We'll make this quick. USSB(SM) brings channel after channel of top movies and a collection of the best entertainment networks right to your TV. All via a simple-to-install, 18-inch satellite dish called the Digital Satellite System (DSS®). So you receive a crystal-clear picture and CD-quality sound. Add DIRECTV® to our unique lineup and over 175 channels are at your fingertips. But enough talk already. Visit your local RCA or SONY retailer to find out about receiving the ultimate TV entertainment from USSB, through DSS technology. Be sure to ask about getting the first month of all our great channels free.

Slice-of-life is an old, well-proven creative technique. Some might groan at the idea of employing such an un-hip, Proctor-and-Gambleish ploy. Well, phooey on them. The success of a technique depends on how and where it's used. And this arresting, inviting ad for USSB proves it.

The creative team handled the slice technique beautifully. The little girl isn't mouthing some inappropriate sales blather; she's being totally candid and natural. And that naturalness is clearly reflected in the photograph.

Another reason slice-of-life works so well here is because it's unexpected to have a piece of high-tech hardware presented to you this way. What the agency people understood, of course, is that they're not selling hardware - they're selling an exciting new entertainment vehicle.

The creatives handled key sales points deftly. For example, the photograph vividly demonstrates how compact the dish antenna is. That's important for prospects turned off by the sight of those older, humongous satellite dishes.

Body copy is friendly, yet wastes no words. There's even a hidden offer in the last line. And the art direction does a great job combining a sense of the new and the novel with a feeling for the familiar. A winner in any era.

Bob Stevenson