Hyperspace members who have been tuning in to AudioCast over the past week have listened in on a rare bit of Star Wars' marketing history -- the 15-part serialized radio campaign, which literally compressed the entire film into 15 30-second parts, was probably broadcast during 1978's summer release of the film, a campaign directed primarily at the "infrequent moviegoer" (since most regular movie fans had likely already seen the movie during its first-year run).

The high-adventure serialized format was designed to appeal to a generation that grew up with fast-paced, action-packed shorts -- Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, The Lone Ranger, etc. -- which had been a tradition of theater-going back in the 1930s-'50s. Even the movie poster devised for Star Wars' 1978 release harked back to the spirit of the serialized adventures, depicting a poster "pasted" on top of the previous week's chapter.

Starting Friday, AudioCast will present another set of early radio ads created for the 1979 re-release of the film, which sought to remind fans that all the thrills and excitement of the space adventure were back -- but only for three weeks! More obscure ads and interviews are on deck for AudioCast, so make sure to keep your browser tuned to starwars.com!