4 weeks to Crusade

 Posted on 5/14/1999 by J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> to CIS


{original post had no questions}

"I swear, the folks at TNT are being shown different versions of this
stuff than the rest of us. It's the only way to explain some of this."

We've gotten used to it. Their promotions department is one of
the most inept I've ever seen. I finally snagged the Crusade promo,
and not only did they make terrible selections of footage, a) about
half the footage isn't even FROM Crusade, it's from B5 and A Call to
Arms (inclusive of Keffer getting gakked in season 2), and b) the
little Crusade footage they DO use is repeated several times (first one-
frame each, then again, mostly people just standing around).

We've delivered virtually all of the episodes, there's plenty of
stuff to draw on...why on *earth* would they go to B5 for footage? And
why on earth would they use the same uninteresting Crusade footage
repeatedly, all this in a 20 second promo, where every second counts?

The only possible answer I can come up with is that these
promotions people are totally and completely inept...which would
explain why the majority of their shows are doing terribly right now.

jms



4 weeks to Crusade

 Posted on 5/15/1999 by J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> to CIS


{original post unavailable}

"The only thing I can think of is that they hope to catch the eye of
existing B5 fans by showing the footage."

Given that the footage used was absolutely unremarkable --
guards standing outside the B5 council chambers, a woman in a starfury
cockpit from ItB, Keffer getting burned, a few others -- that prospect
seems thin at best.

jms



4 weeks to Crusade

 Posted on 5/27/1999 by J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> to CIS


{original post had no questions}

The marriage was going great until the wacky inlaws showed up
with Cousin It from Atlanta....

jms



4 weeks to Crusade

 Posted on 5/31/1999 by J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> to CIS


{original post had no questions}

Actually, I've finally figured out TNT's marketing strategy for
Crusade, and I've come to realize that I'm wrong, it's an utterly
innovative and unprecedented campaign.

See, the more PR you put out there about a show, the more you
are going to prejudice a potential audience for or -- possibly --
against the program. So the best way to combat this is to put out
little or no PR so that the audience can come to the show without *any*
prior preconceptions whatsoever.

It's breathtaking, I tell you...breathtaking.

jms

(PS, there's a very good Crusade article in the current issue of
Dreamwatch Magazine, from the UK but available out here, that really
gets into the nuts and bolts of what happened.)



4 weeks to Crusade

 Posted on 6/3/1999 by J. Michael Straczynski <71016.1644@compuserve.com> to CIS


{original post unavailable}

I've actually been just about as busy now as before, so who has
time?

jms