Guerilla Marketing bomb scare
As you may know, there was a massive bomb scare in Boston today. It turned out to be an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Turner Broadcasting as a guerrilla marketing campaign for their show on the Cartoon Network named Adult Swim. Someone’s got some questions to answer.
According to CNN, Portland is on the list:
Turner said the devices had been in place for two to three weeks in Boston; New York; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
So, all you readers, I want to know where these items are before they are taken down. Anyone? I’ll head out and take photos.
Metroblogging Boston has ongoing updates.
I was wondering if I should call this Gorilla marketing since today is indeed Gorilla Suit wearing day.
I’ve heard this story most of the day and just
now again on ABC radio. The guy who reads the news
had the same 2 questions I’ve had:
1. Why is a flashing sign with a cartoon character
identified as a bomb threat?
2. How did it take 2 weeks to conjure that it’s a threat?
It’s one-half hour later and the same ABC newsreader (I think his name is Gil Gross)
is telling the same story again except that
now he said “dangerous devices” instead of
“bombs”.
“Why is a flashing sign with a cartoon character
identified as a bomb threat?”
Say that as “electronic devices on bridge supports” and you might get it.
It’ not a question of “getting it.” I’m speaking to how the news is reported. Had the news said the devices were attached to bridge supports, then the concern would be much clearer.
By the way, now several hours later, they’re not
“flashing signs” with a cartoon character, they’re
now “blinking boxes”. Not a peep about bridge supports – at least not on ABC Radio.
Utterly no continuity between how the story is reported at 5:30 pm, 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
Don’t know what to tell you. Almost every report I’ve read since the story broke mentions bridges and a subway station.
The reality is that the marketing company responsible is apparently run by morons.
There’s one on the Van Tin jewelry store sign on the north side of Sandy and 49th (next to KFC). It was there as of last night!
Is this what we have been afraid of for the last five years? Have the terr’ists FINALLY won when litebrite outlines of bird-flipping aliens cause a citywide panic?
Of course, an evil genius would arrange several of these ‘marketing’ campaigns, wait for public opinion to hold all the panicked responders up to ridicule, and then plant REAL bombs rigged to look like just another marketing device.
This is the result of the last 5 years of the Bush crowd running around constantly talking about terrorists, hate, fear, mushroom clouds, islamofascism, nucular threat, dirty bombs, etc, etc, etc. Not only does it instill a fear in the average American, but it diverts attention from the crimes this administration has gotten away with. Smart, but evil.
Of course, ALL bombs have blinking lights on them! They’re there to attract the attention of Jack Bauer, duh.
And they all count down and go off at zero, instead of like, say, 117…
Mary Sue, you stole my thunder. We’ve been reduced to viewing reality (its glories and dangers alike) through the distorted lens of TV fiction. Welles’ ‘War of the Worlds’ makes this seem like child’s play, and yet here we are, cowering on the ground like scared Sheeple.
Oh, I’m sure Nancy (f**king) Grace and Fox News were all over this yesterday… ANYTHING to take the spotlight off Bush and the escalating War on Brown People.
Here’s a link to the story about those being spotted in Portland:
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_020107_news_suspicious_package.3e59365f.html
And here’s how you can make your own!
http://www.instructables.com/id/E9D2ZJ3FG0EP286JEJ/
Dig it.
Just an FYI: the show in question is actually Aqua Teen Hunger Force, not Adult Swim. Adult Swim is the name of the late-night block of programming that hosts ATHF and an array of other weird cartoons for the over TV-14 crowd. The little pixel guy is a character on the show known for flipping the bird as a greeting.
Brandon, sorry for the delay in your comment. Our spam filter doesn’t like the word TEEN.
TEEN TEEN TEEN TEEN TEEN TEEN.
nor does it like SHOE
i love how everyone is calling it a “hoax”. what is the hoax?
its a very very minor case of corporate vandalism. but not a “hoax”, not even close.
even the bomb squads didn’t think they were bombs. it was reported that they took these blinking signs down without any protective gear on.
yet it got someone’s panties in a wad. last night on NPR, they reported that one “device” was detonated by the bomb squad.
i bet the bomb squad blew up the lite brite sign cause, HEY, they have explosives, and they CAN. heck i would. why not?
i wish my job was to go find lite brites and blow them up.