Editing The Day After (section)

=== ''The Day Before'' campaign ===
Josh Baran and Mark Graham were [[anti-nuclear movement|anti-nuclear activists]] who were secretly given a bootleg copy of the film by Nick Meyer prior to the ABC broadcast. They sent copies of the film to various peace groups, interviewed peace leaders about the film, and held screenings in homes, bars, and restaurants. There were post-screening discussion groups and town hall meetings. They held private screenings for the media, like ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, the ''[[New York Times]]'', and the BBC. As word got out about the film, higher ups wanted to see it including members of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], and even the Pope. Baran and Graham called it ''The Day Before'' project to hijack ABC's marketing of the film. One scholar said they "pioneered the piggybacking of a public issue onto the release of a commercial media product", and ''Variety'' called it "the greatest PR campaign in history."<ref name="Craig" />

The consequences of Meyer's bootleg copy and subsequent ''The Day Before'' PR campaign was a groundswell of public interest and discussion before the film was ever broadcast. This made it difficult for ABC executives to kill the film, because there were rumors they wanted to quietly shelve it, including rumors that Ronald Reagan had hinted to studio executives he didn't want the film broadcast.<ref name="Craig">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/apocalypsetelevi0000crai/page/85/mode/2up?admin=1&view=theater |chapter=Chapter: Hijacked |title=Apocalypse Television: How The Day After Helped End the Cold War |publisher=Applause |location=Essex, Connecticut |first=David Randolph |last=Craig |year=2024 |pages=85–98 |isbn=9781493079179 }}</ref>