NEAR’s Weird Marketing ‘Hack’ Riffed on Infamous 1987 Chicago TV Hijacking

What really makes Max memorable today, and notable for the purposes of NEAR’s rather cringey gambit, is the broadcast that wasn’t supposed to be: the Max Headroom incident. In 1987, an unknown signal pirate hijacked a “Dr. Who” broadcast in Chicago and went on a 90-second nonsensical ramble, all while wearing a Max Headroom mask.