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You’ve no doubt heard about the Cartoon Network’s guerilla advertising campaign that backfired in Boston.
A furious Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino vowed yesterday to throw the book at the masterminds behind a guerrilla marketing campaign gone amok that plunged the city into bomb-scare pandemonium and blew nearly $1 million in police overtime and other costs.
As city and state attorneys laid groundwork for criminal charges and lawsuits, cops seized 27-year-old Arlington multimedia artist Peter Berdovsky, who posted film on his Web site boasting that he and friends planted the battery-wired devices, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown. Both were jailed overnight on charges of placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct.
“This is outrageous activity to get publicity for a failing show,” said Menino, referring to the battery-operated light-up ads for the Cartoon Network’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” which sparked at least nine bomb scares in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.
The Chicago coppers weren’t happy either, and pulled down 20 of the signs yesterday, even though nobody had called 911 in panic, as happened in Boston.
“No one has the right to interfere with public safety,” [Chicago Police Supt. Phil Cline] said at a Thursday news conference. “This marketing scheme was dangerous and risky business that could have caused tremendous inconvenience, unforeseen damage and, more important, unnecessary harm to many people.” Cline said he will be asking the network’s parent company, Turner Broadcasting Systems, to reimburse the department’s costs since officers could have been getting rid of “gangs, drugs and guns” instead of taking down signs for “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”
To the question: Who do you think is more irresponsible here? The Cartoon Network for placing the signs in the first place? Or the police, public officials and the media for reacting as they did? Explain.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:13 am
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On Tuesday, I’d bet that less than 5% of the country had ever heard of ATHF. By Thursday, I’d bet 50% had. That’s successful marketing folks.
The Boston police have demonstrated that they are some of the biggest idiots on the planet. Sure, I can see treating the first one of these signs as a matter of concern, but once it became apparent this was an electronic sign and not some sort of WMD (which should have taken about 30 seconds or so to figure out), then they should have just calmed down. Menino is just as big an idiot for making sure that the focus will stay on just how badly his police mishandled this.
Comment by Bluefish Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:27 am
Sir, the only bomb I know is on “24″ and this items does not look like it. It looks like a toy my kids once had. I think it was called LiteBrite.I can only conclude that Boston wants to deflect attention from giving us Sen. Kerry.
Nice try, but no go.
Also it must be rated the best “suck in the media to a p.r. campaign” since [edited by moderator].
Comment by Capt. Obvious Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:35 am
Both are incredibly irresponsible. Turner/Cartoon Network for sticking garbage all over the place on public infrastructure without obtaining proper permits (and paying the city for the use of city/public property).
The cities for being incredibly stupid in their reaction to piles of trash that are clearly not bombs, and not intended to be bombs. Its not like these were hidden so as not to be seen as a bomb would be, or disguised as an abandoned backpack or something.
Comment by jerry Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:38 am
The Cartoon Network and Ted Turner should pay up for the stunts stupidity. All costs plus a hefty punishment fine. The 2 idiots who did this should serve a little time for doing this where they live. You know Boston - where the 9/11 hijackers took off? There is no excuse. And Bluefish, if you were going to actually plant a devise to harm other people wouldn’t you make it look as innocent as possible? I think you would. And that is where the very real fear came from. It wasn’t just law enforcement, it was the whole city.
Comment by Belle Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:39 am
These signs were not posted where signs are to be posted. They were posted in places where their presence was a factor. By placing them on bridges, overpasses and other unusual places, they created the problem. We do not allow postings on unauthorized locations, paper or other wise. It is common sense.
What the marketers did was stupid. The very idea behind their stunt is stupid. Only a bunch of desperate marketers would fall for the idea that you can generate publicity by posting nonsensical mysterious flashing symbols. Stupid - utterly stupid. There was nothing on the signs that promoted the product they were presenting. The entire idea that this kind of marketing works should be suspect to professionals in the business.
Throw the book at them.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:42 am
NPR - had some Limey Twit making light of the incident and kopping a plea for the Advertising Genius who set this up - no kidding this clown thought such gorilla tactics edgey!
If NPR is tolerant of clowns like this, why not give the Police some air-time? NPR is in the van-guard of every anti- police story that finds its way to an a lawyer’s digits and the one I listened to yesterday at about 10:30 AM was typical.
Comment by Pat Hickey Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:50 am
Belle, If you were hired to a do a job by a major corporation, would you assume that said corporation wouldn’t ask you to do anything illegal? Wouldn’t you assume that all necessary legal channels were cleared?
Blaming these kids for doing a job that they were hired to do by one of the largest corporations in America is ridiculous. The kids were paid to run around and stick crap on things. AOL/Time Warner is at fault for not obtaining permits for the advertising. So, I agree that they should pay some form of restitution, but to put the kids behind bars for doing a job? No way.
And the real fear came from the irresponsible overreaction of the Boston PD.
Comment by jerry Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:54 am
This was a huge over reaction. The best comparison I heard to the object was that they are like lite-brights. How one could be mistaken for a bomb for more than 30 seconds is beyond me. It was just advertising. Had they placed posters, signs, or anything else, this would be a non issue.
Granted, had someone at Turned, or the tv network simply told police what they planned on doing, all the fuss could have been avoided. My assumption is that had they done that and been told that they were not allowed, they wouldn’t have been able to place the displays without facing penalty.
Punishing the 2 guys that put them up? Absurd. Yes lets make criminals and felons out of these guys so that there only chance for a living the rest of their lives is selling drugs. Sound a little sensationalist? Maybe. But can anyone argue that putting someone in prison hurts their chances at a normal life? All for what? Hanging up some displays. Let’s lock up any little kid that puts a lost dog sign on a phone pole because thats hindering my ability to read the no parking sign. Its ridiculous.
The news media is blowing this story way out of proportion. The public officials are trying to make themselves look good and that they are tough on terrorism by being appalled.
Belle, thanks for trying to play off of 9/11 on this subject. Its a strategy the republicans have been using for 5 years now. Tie anything to that event and you can’t argue against it. Nice ploy.
VM - you seem to not care too much for people in the marketing business. But you are totally wrong. Bluefish has a great point. How many people have learned about ATHF through this ordeal? How many people that knew about the show will watch again because of this stunt? I actually used to watch the show and recall it as very funny. But this form of advertising is very similar to any other. Had they bought billboards or something else it would have been the same idea. The only difference is they tried to go ‘high-tech’ by placing lights on the ad.
Comment by Robbie Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 9:57 am
I think that the advertising company is a bit irresponsible for the creation and placement of the signs, but flashing lite-bright signs looking like a bomb? They were flat. I’m sure they looked real scary.
A little investigating and a cool head by police prior to the inevitable media explosion may have helped keep the media responsible too. You know the media will be their typical moronic selves if you give them a possible sensational story. The cops should have down played the whole thing instead of crying because they were duped.
The police, public officials and the media really took this incident to the extreme. Because of that,
1. It really helped the promotion of the Cartoon Network, and
2. It probably desensitized the public and gave real bombers an idea of how to fashion future devices.
Curious ad campaign.
Comment by Papa Legba Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 10:16 am
What’s new here?. It’s just another over-reaction by bureaucrats who take themselves too seriously. What-there was no threat? Oops.
I love the press conference by the two defendants at which they steered all conversation to 70s hairstyles. It went right over the heads of the media.
Comment by MJ Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 10:19 am
Robbie/Bluefish – perhaps you’d be less likely to dismiss something like this by looking at it “for 30 seconds†if YOU were responsible for the safety of your city’s citizens; and if being wrong meant YOU could and up being responsible for their deaths.
Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 10:21 am
Ignignokt and Err would be so proud of this.
Bow down to your digital rulers.
Comment by Gene Parmesan Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 10:24 am
I sense that the police may have overreacted here a bit, at least in Chicago. I can understand that the authorities are on edge cause of the terror threat, but this was a simple, cartoon prank that is getting way too much airplay here. All is does is feed the fires for more people to pull these kinds of stunts.
Comment by pickles!! Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 10:25 am
Look, I can see taking a very serious approach to this when these signs were first discovered. Every precaution should have been taken. But once it became clear that these were not a threat, things should have calmed down very quickly. Remember, these signs were basically souped up light-brights and any professional trained in explosives should have been able to tell this in a few seconds. Instead, Boston officials overreacted and are now trying to CYA by blaming the two hired hands. Should Turner Broadcasting have been ready to tell local authorities immediately what the nature of the promotion was? Sure. Should Boston officials downplayed this “event” as soon as they realized what they were dealing with? Absolutely. Instead, they overreacted, have a major mess to explain, and refuse to admit they should have handled things much differently. Sorry if you don’t agree.
Comment by Bluefish Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 10:42 am
All these people had to do was get whatever permits the local cities require for most ads so the cops would know what was going on. Maybe an over reaction by the police, but the cops cannot afford to be wrong about any potential bomb like threat. Dumb PR.
Comment by zatoichi Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 10:47 am
I think the problem here is that the devices were designed not to be seen by ‘professionals’ who could tell immediately that they were harmless.
They were seen by the general public. If I had seen something wrapped in duct tape that flashed red and had a little wire sticking out, I would run first and call for the authorities. I wouldn’t stick around for 30 seconds and try to analyze it.
The cops may have overreacted but then we still have a huge hole that obliterated 3,000 people and harmed countless others in NYC many years later.
I vote with the police on this one. The ad folks need to get a reality check as to what is “creative” and what is plain stupid that would cause panic and harm.
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 10:47 am
GOP - If I were in charge of keeping my city safe from terrorists, I would hope I would be able to recognize a credible bomb threat quicker than that.
Louis G - You try to play the 9/11 card too. What does this event have to do with 9/11? There were no bombs in NYC, only big airplanes. At least Belle tried to make a ridiculous connection with Boston. (though that to me is the equivalent as saying ‘we take security seriously in Galesburg because 1 of the victims of 9/11 once knew someone that drove through Galesburg once’)
Comment by Robbie Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:12 am
“Daddy, the lite-brite cartoon scares me!”
“Don’t worry child — we’ll make certain that someone spends time in jail for this!”
It never ceases to amaze me that many of the same people who damn any and all regulation by the government will back the over-reactions of government as long as they are couched in the name of “Security”.
Comment by So-Called "Austin Mayor" Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:17 am
Bluefish, which is it:
Should the police have taken “a very serious approach,” or should they have based their reaction on an assessment lasting only “a few seconds?” You can’t have it both ways.
I admit that the city government and media over-reacted, and are making even bigger fools of themselves trying to save face; but I think you should apologize for refering to the men and women of the Boston Police Department as “some of the biggest idiots on the planet” just for erring on the side of protecting the safety of their city’s citizens (which is, you know, their job).
Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:21 am
How on earth are Lite-Brites with a cartoon character flicking people off ‘dangerous’, let alone a ‘grave concern’?
Some people take themselves too seriously.
Note to guerilla marketers, clear your antics with the police ahead of time.
Comment by NW burbs Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:26 am
Stupidity abounds in this situation. Turner, etc. should have thought this through better and the authorities shouldn’t have overreacted after determining the first one wasn’t dangerous. Do not public officials watch ATHF? I do occasionally and find the show sometimes funny (it’s pretty hit and miss).
Turner should pony up some cash for the costs incurred to smooth things over, but the talk of criminal charges is pretty ridiculous. Where’s the criminal intent here? Luckily for them the Boston judge is already asking the same question.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:28 am
Here is a picture of the dangerous figures. (hotlinked from my own subdomain)
Comment by Robbie Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:29 am
Because it was a Turner company, I say throw the book at them. In fact, take away whatever licenses they need to operate.
Of course, if a News Corp company had done the same thing, it would be ok.
Seriously,
if this had been done by a News Corp company instead of a Turner company, how would that effect your opinions.
Ted Turner hasn’t even been on the board of directors of Turner Broadcasting in almost a year (let alone in any position of real power) but people want to fine him?
Comment by winco Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:30 am
let me try this again
Comment by Robbie Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:36 am
Also, this talk about Chicago wasting cops’ time running around picking these things up is ridiculous. I’d have picked one up for them for nothing if they just told me where to go.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:44 am
I’m not a big blogger and tend to agree that the authorities made the stunt even bigger with the scale of their reaction. But the fact is that any savvy marketer knows that controversy sells and this is what these guys did in a calculated way. Of course Turner should pay the city — the attention they got is a bargain at any price. It was also shameless, exploitative and totally disrespectful of the real fears that many people do indeed feel in these messed up times. The flip, “ironic” (and in my opinion just not very clever) chatter at the marketer kids press conference was gross. It showed them to be what they probably are, upper middle class, entitled rebel wannabe’s who don’t understand or get that they should want to understand that their actions had meaning far beyond the dumb-a** TV show they were hyping. Their parents must be proud
Comment by independent cynic Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 11:52 am
Talk to people there in Boston. I do have a friend there. She says it was the wiring that was visible that made people freak. Bridges, highways, main commuter fares - yea, real funny. Anyone else notice that the AP is reporting pipe-bombs mailed to Chicago and Kansas City offices? Real ones. But maybe that innocent looking package that they arrived in was just some equally innocent persons way of saying they are angry huh? I mean, they didn’t get to go off now did they? The point is you never know. Sorry people - being stupid and negligent and totally not caring about other people is not an acceptable option. You can be a jerk - just don’t bother anyone else. And Never ever hurt anyone!
Comment by Belle Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 12:03 pm
One of those characters appears to be raising his middle finger. Are we sending a message to our youth that it’s ok to flip the bird? I haven’t been this outraged since Tinky-Winky started carrying a purse!
Comment by Aldertrack Fan Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 12:13 pm
I try not to make it a habit to interfere in the QOTD, but I do need to say one thing.
The first thought that went through my mind after I heard it was a “hoax” was that a terrorist might do this to see how the police/military reacted in order to find holes, establish patterns, etc.
I don’t think the Cartoon Network people thought this would set off alarm bells, but I can understand the concern of the police.
Anyway, back to the QOTD…
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 12:20 pm
You know that thinks have gone too far when lite-brite clones are thought to be bombs.
Comment by U of I Dem Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 12:22 pm
Good marketing and creating controversy is two different things. Only a crappy marketer would think creating controversy as a good thing. If we start using marketing tactics like this perhaps we can start claiming that assassins are only marketers trying to get a political point across. You do not allow your business to get put into a situation where your so-called marketers create a national security controversy. What are they selling? Something vital or important? A matter of life or death? No - CARTOONS.
Marketers that resorts to stunts like this have no clue how to market.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 12:32 pm
There’s some case history. IBM did a viral marketing campaign for Linux that involved “painting” the Linux penguin logo on sidewalks downtown near businesses that would be prime customers for the software. Workers from the ad agency were sent out with stencils and a bottle of a chalk and water mixture to spray the logo down. The chalk was designed to wash off in the rain or with one blast of a hose during normal sidewalk cleanings. But some idiots hired by the agency from a pool of temps didn’t follow the instructions and used real paint in some places. IBM got stuck paying for the cleanup, and fined for illegal ad posting.
The LED people should be fined for illegally posting advertising bills in unauthorized public and private areas, just like anybody else that sticks up flyers for bands or movies or whatnot.
But that’s about it. Anybody that could interpret these “devices” as bombs is just a twit. And you can thank the government and the media for hyping such twits into their current hair-trigger state of ridiculous over-reaction.
I am sick to DEATH of people using 9-11 to excuse, defend, or justify every little stupid decision and ill-considered action taken by civilians or the authorities. What’s next, lock down the Ryan Expressway tomorrow morning because someone called in from their cell that there’s a “suspicious” soda can alongside the curb? I suspect as much as anything, Boston, anxious to take public scrutiny off the Big Dig, was looking to demonstrate they could do something right and important as a distraction. instead they made a national-level laughingstock of themselves.
The Boston authorities should have been much more efficient at notifying their staff and systems what these advertisements were, once the first one was identified and called in as harmless. This event points out their command structure communicates poorly, more than anything. At least the Chicago citizens and P.D. showed a more reasonable level of reaction, checking things out before going turbo chicken-little.
It also points up how the media, hungry to entice viewership at any cost, and the government, anxious to generate a blind consensus from the public for any and all things they feel like doing, irresponsibly tarts up the terrorist threat until the nation is cowering at every backfiring tailpipe and fanny-pack-wearing immigrant. We voluntarily let them make us witless sheep. Let us collectively get a $%# GRIP on ourselves already. This blind, slavelike urge to panic like lemmings creates not even the ILLUSION of security, it only weakens the nation. See beyond the fear-mongering. Wake the heck UP.
Finally, looking at the CBS channel 2 coverage, it is funny how they censored the images of the cartoon figures for the still shots, but left their obscene middle-finger-gestures visible in all the footage of the actual reports. Do you think over-zealous religious nuts will complain to the FCC, resulting in massive fines to these stations for not blurring-out the offending digital digit? Why not? It’s an offshoot of this same panic mode hysteria.
Comment by Gregor Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 12:43 pm
Here’s my question: How long had they been up and how long for someone to notice? I think Turner did us a great service. It seems we have some issues with security. No one called 911 in Chicago? So when the real thing does show up I hope another city finds them first, it appears we aren’t watching very closely, I’m not talking about the police, I mean us as a society.
Comment by frustrated GOP Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 1:03 pm
Rich, you bring up a great point of a testing by groups. But the bigger question that needs to be asked from that angle is why did it take us 2-3 weeks in some cities to notice? Additionally, in the cities where they did find them, no efforts were made to share information with other metro areas. I definitely think it points to the fact that our law enforcement/terrorist prevention efforts are not making much progress.
Now for those that say “robbie you just said that they overreacted and now it sounds like you are blaming them for under reacting” I want to refute that before hand by saying that instead of making a big media circus out of a small issue they should have been working to minimize the situation.
Comment by Robbie Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 1:18 pm
Turner & staff claim they were up 3 weeks before being noticed. That does not explain why calls came in from 5 parts of the city around the same time on the same day. Furthermore Turner & Co did not own up that it was a PR stunt until 5pm EST. This went on ALL day and was national news ALL day. They could have easily ended it at any time. And the 2 ‘kids’ in the mid-20’s have no clue about owning up to anything. They gave a bizarre news conference about their hair styles and those in the seventies. I have 2 other things to add. If this network is guilty of only having a now successful marketing campaign to get the name of the show out there than Osama bin Laden must be the greatest marketer on the planet. Who knew his group existed before 9/11? And didn’t the servicemen in Vietnam report that the enemy was using children’s toys to camoflage explosive devices? And children as well? I can use 9/11 as an example. Law enforcement is suppose to respond and in the absense of knowing what is going on they have to assume the worse. It is really aggravating to me that many of the same people who say that not enough was done to prevent 9/11 at the federal level are saying there was an over-reaction to a possible threat at the state and local level. Typical.
Comment by Belle Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 1:28 pm
the two knuckleheads they arrested are famous now, all cause of a silly, cartoon prank. They wil make the stars of “Aqua Teen” Meatwad, Master Shake and Frylok, and even Carl, household names.
Only in America
Comment by pickles!! Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 1:50 pm
pickles!! -
Where else can you watch “The Family Guy” every night - The Cartoon channel. Ain’t America great?
Rich,
I think your comment exposed some deep dark side of your inner-self. Hmmm. JK!!!
Comment by Papa Legba Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 3:04 pm
Just more evidence that the land of the free has become the land of the fear.
Comment by yinn Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 4:02 pm
Next they will fly a plane over the White House spray white paint and blame everyone for over reacting to a new marketing stunt for white paint.
It could be the new “cool” - let’s call it “Jackass Cool”, after the TV shows and movies. It isn’t cool enough to show yourself falling into a flaming outhouse - now you have to rig it up to show everyone else falling for your sick stunts. Is this where we are going?
And to those bloggers laughing at us over reacting and mocking us over our anger or blaming us for our national security in these days, here is a fine for the costs of your elitist egotistical attitude. You are just too cool for everyone, congratulations!
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 4:18 pm
Nine Pound Hammer from Kentucky is going to be on the soundtrack to the movie. That is enough to get me to see the flick.
Devin
Comment by Devin Miller Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 4:25 pm
The show is stupid, but throwing the book at these two is stupider. There goes my real respect for Mayor Menino.
Comment by T.J. Friday, Feb 2, 07 @ 6:17 pm
Chicago overreacting?????? Guess they’ll want to ban cartoons now.
Comment by Anonymous Sunday, Feb 4, 07 @ 10:07 am