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The Sentinel Ad Campaign
The Ad Group was formed by Barbara Nice-Miller just after word of The Sentinel's cancellation was announced in May, 1998.
She had seen an ad in USA Today, taken out by the Magnificent Seven fans, who were in the same situation as The Sentinel fans were - trying to save their show. As a graphic designer, her first thought was, "Why can't we do this, too?"
She posted the Ad Group idea to Senad, and the response was overwhelming. She became in charge of the project, and soon had more than 100 Sentinel fans from all the lists and from around the world sending donations for an ad of their own . Thus, the Ad Group was born. (Current membership stands at just over 200)
She collected over $4,000 and the first ad ran in the USA Today on June 15, 1998. It was a tremendous success. The general public became aware of The Sentinel's plight, and UPN became aware of how serious the fans were in their fight to save our show.
About a month after the USA Today ad ran, UPN announced that The Sentinel would return as a mid-season replacement.
The Ad Group placed yet another ad after this announcement, this time raising $1,500 for an ad in the Hollywood Reporter on July 7, 1998, welcoming back the cast and crew, and thanking Paramount and UPN.
In September, 1998, as a welcome back gift for Pet Fly, the Ad Group presented the cast and crew with t-shirts featuring the Hollywood Reporter ad as the design.
But they weren't done yet. They wanted to celebrate The Sentinel's return to the airwaves with another advertisement. This time $8,400 was raised, and on February 1st, 1999, the Ad Group ran a second ad in USA Today, proclaiming proudly "THE SENTINEL IS BACK!".
With possible cancellation yet again imminent, once again a letter writing campaign, organised by the Group is up and running. They are looking to other sources for The Sentinels salvation and has hopefully found it in the U.S Sci-Fi channel. So the new objective is hopefully for first run syndication on Sci-Fi channel.
I know that all Sentinel fans owe Barb and her group a great debt. They have brought the show into the spotlight, when it seemed that the 'powers that be' were determined to see it sink.
If you want any further information on the Ad Campaign, please contact Barb on: AgtSpooky@aol.com