Cartoon Network Promo "Terrorizes" Boston

Stunt-gone-awry yields bomb scares, 10 hours of highway and train line
closures—and legal threats against Turner Broadcasting

By Juliana Bolden, Emmys.tv
February 1, 2007

Perceived by law enforcement and others as a possible terrorist threat, according to Boston news sources, at least one of the devices promoting Aqua Teen Hunger Force (characters above) was detonated by a police bomb squad.

The one-foot tall electronic signs resemble a circuit board. When lit, a boxy, cartoon character appeared to give passersby "the finger," reports say.

Boston, MA - Turner Broadcasting issued a formal apology to the city of Boston on Wednesday evening, after a Cartoon Network marketing campaign-gone-awry shifted law enforcement into high alert, prompting the closure of roads, highways, train lines and a section of the Charles River.

Law enforcement reportedly responded to complaints about "suspicious-looking boxes" with "protruding wires and batteries," containing magnetic, blinking lights shaped as cartoon characters—electronic promotional devices, actually, intended to stir buzz for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a staple of Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" program block.

Their strategic locations near major structures, however—next to bridges, billboards, major roads and other key structures, such as Fenway Park—proved more alarming to some, than the "lite brite"-like signs themselves. Perceived by law enforcement and others as a possible terrorist threat, at least one of the devices was detonated by a police bomb squad, Boston news sources reported.

In addition to Boston, the network had commissioned third-party marketing firm Interference of New York City to post the devices around nine other cities over the past two to three weeks, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Austin, Portland and Seattle.

Once Turner realized the magnitude of the Boston crisis, the company said, they told Interference to take all of the devices down immediately. Boston authorities found 38 devices. New York police took down 41. Philadelphia law enforcement reported 51 in their area.

Two Men Jailed, Boston Prosecutor
Cites Items' "Bomb-Like" Look

Boston authorities jailed two men, Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, on charges of placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. They each plead not guilty this morning and were released on $2,500 cash bonds. Though allegedly paid to post the items, Berdovsky and Stevens still face up to five years behind bars.

Assistant Attorney General John Grossman said during their arraignment this morning that the devices look like bombs. “The appearance of this device and its location are crucial,” Grossman said. “It’s clear the intent was to get attention by causing fear and unrest that there was a bomb in that location,”

The defendants' lawyer, Michael Rich, later countered that any electronic device may fit the description of a "bomb-like" item. “If somebody had left a VCR on the ground," he said, "it would have been a device with wires, electronic components and a power source.”

Overreaction or Appropriate Action?

Some of Boston's younger set especially, who may be more familiar with Aqua Teen and unconventional "guerilla" marketing tactics, believe their city overreacted to complaints. Tracy O'Connor, for one, a 34-year-old retail manager, reportedly called her local law enforcement's reaction "silly and insane," in contrast with other cities' more low-key, less panicked responses to the items.

"We're the laughing stock," O'Conner said.

Police Commissioner Edward Davis pointed out in an interview with the Associated Press, however, that "just a little over a mile away from the placement of the first device, a group of terrorists boarded airplanes and launched an attack on New York City."

"The city clearly did not overreact," Davis said. Had we taken any other steps, we would have been endangering the public."

Though few, if any other, possible terror threat complaints registered in other cities, Atlanta police officer Joe Cobb told the Associated Press that "in today's world it's better safe than sorry." Someone in Boston clearly believed there was a threat, he said.

Turner: "We we're simply promoting a TV show"

Beset by mounting criticism from public officials for wasting public funds and resources, Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner Inc., took responsibility for the outcome of this promotional campaign. "We apologize to the citizens of Boston that part of a marketing campaign was mistaken for a public danger," Turner chairman Phil Kent said in a statement.

"We appreciate the gravity of this situation and, like any responsible company would, are putting all necessary resources toward understanding the facts surrounding it as quickly as possible," he said.

Boston mayor Thomas Menino vowed legal action against Turner, in order to recover all costs incurred during the scare—more than $750,000 in police costs alone per early reports.

"It is outrageous, in a post-9/11 world, that a company would use this sort of marketing scheme," Menino said.

Turner spokeswoman Shirley Powell said that Adult Swim marketing department conceived the campaign, which was approved by Cartoon Network brass. As Adult Swim's primary demo target is men aged 18 to 24, the net then directed third-party marketers Interference to post the items in places most likely to be seen by young men.

Powell said the net had received no calls about the devices during the two weeks or so that they have been in place. "We were simply promoting a TV show," she explained. "If we had ever perceived this to be something threatening safety, we would never have proceeded with it."

The "Apex" of Marketing Meltdowns

Far from the first unconventional marketing campaign to spin out of control, some in the media and marketing community, such as Andrew Benett, chief strategy officer at Euro RSCG Worldwide, view this Cartoon Network incident as "the apex" of guerrilla campaigns gone awry.

Among other unconventional promotional efforts gone south? In 2005, for instance, Snapple attempted to promote a line of frozen snacks by erecting a 25-foot popsicle in New York City, Reuters reported. The giant pop melted, unfortunately, making a swamp of Union Square.

Having stirred up so much media commotion, even in the face of this costly public safety crisis, Bennett told Reuters, "It's very safe to say, while not done on purpose, (Cartoon Network's campaign) may have been far more successful than planned."

The restitution Mayor Menino says Turner must pay for post-9/11 Boston's "bomb scare," however, may truly test that age-old adage, "There's no such thing as bad publicity."

Aqua Teen Hunger Force airs at night during Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" block, attracting a cult-like following. A full-length Aqua Teen theatrical feature, written and directed by series creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis, is scheduled for release this March.