In the run-up to Saturday’s huge 50th Anniversary “Doctor Who” broadcast event, the BBC found themselves with a bit of a marketing challenge: craft a campaign that would appeal to lifelong fans of a beloved sci-fi brand without creating something so steeped in its mythology that new viewers would be turned off.

Not an easy task, when you consider that the show has had five decades to develop deep loyalties, complex story lines and a devoted fan base of “Whovians” around the world. Get it wrong, and the BBC would certainly hear about it. Especially since the anniversary is going to be simulcast in more than 75 different countries.

“We have been very mindful from day one that we have a show that feels like it has a collective ownership,” said Charlie Mawer, executive creative director at Red Bee Media.

Their solution? Create a centerpiece brand trailer for the 50th anniversary that told a strong narrative to lure in newbies, but that was laced with enough of the series’ iconography—some of it hidden—to keep loyal Whovians intrigued until showtime.

Red Bee crafted a time-frozen portrait that rolls through the 50-year history of the franchise, featuring all past Doctors, as well as many of their companions and nemeses. There are also winks to the Doctor’s favorite candy (Jelly Bellies), a glimpse of the opening scene from the first broadcast in 1963, and various tools and gadgets from the show.

“It had a strong single and exciting narrative that you could understand and enjoy if you knew nothing about “Doctor Who,” Mawer told Brief. “But then underneath that there is layer upon layer upon layer that rewards and is a hat tip to the Whovians.”

And the Whovians have responded in force, with many posting their own annotated versions of the trailer that highlight the hidden elements. (You can check out some of the more fleshed out lists here and here.

“We absolutely set out to reward them and I think that was something the BBC was keen on as well,” Mawer said. He also pointed out that not all of the hidden elements have been identified

Red Bee decided to create the time-frozen portrait for the centerpiece video to stylistically and visually play with the concept of time—something that is so vital to the premise of the “Doctor Who” series.

The anniversary special also centers around “a single moment,” Mawer said, making the video feel even more appropriate.

BBC has been encouraging people to use a special hashtag #SaveTheDay to talk about the show online, and Mawer says that developing the phrase was one of the big moments of the campaign.

“It’s a very simple phrase. In 10 characters, it manages to talk about what we want people to do, but it also manages to talk about what the Doctor has managed to do himself for fifty years,” he said.

BBC One also created a special Doctor Who Saves the Day website that aggregates fan-generated art and Tweets, and also unlocks special preview clips of the show.

“The website was a way of both engaging with fans and thanking them, really, and giving them a place to showcase their messages and art and videos and everything else they’ve created in respect to the show,” said BBC One Acting Head of Marketing Kerry Moss.

And for BBC One viewers, its been hard to miss the Doctor on his home channel back in the U.K., where programmers from the Beeb have worked him into a series of network idents that are a playful way to remind viewers once again about the 50th anniversary.

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor airs Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2:50pm ET/11:50am PT on BBCAmerica.

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