As publicists for the TV series Nature, produced by PBS flagship station Thirteen/WNET New York, we devised and executed a special campaign for a Nature mini-series called The Nature of Sex, which concerns animal reproduction.

A problem in promoting Nature was, ironically, its long-term success. TV writers had been paying less attention to the show because it had been on the air since 1981 and had inspired so much competitive programming. Some journalists felt there was nothing new to write about.

To overcome this, we took advantage of the controversy surrounding sex on television and developed a theme that suggested the new mini-series would change the way people thought about the subject. An elaborate and eye-catching press kit included a quiz titled, "How Much Do You Really Know About The Facts of Life?" It drew attention to many of the fantastic occurrences seen in the mini-series.

The result: feature stories in such publications as TV Guide, USA Today and The New Yorker, two mentions on the Tonight Show, articles by almost all the syndicated TV writers, and reviews in most major cities, including New York and Los Angeles. Consequently, The Nature of Sex achieved an average 5 rating and 8 share, which was more than twice the seasonal average for Nature, and extremely high for a public television series.