Boston proved itself extra vigilant when it discovered several Light Brights with cartoon characters on them throughout the city, many thought they were bombs. These devices were located and removed after a day of mayhem in the city and bomb scare reports ran rampant in the local and national media.
As it turns out, the devices were actually part of a multi-city guerilla marketing campaign by an Adult Swim program on Turner Broadcasting System's Cartoon Network. The persons that assembled and put up the devices around the city (with a cartoon character rudely gesturing) were arrested and the companies involved (a third party marketer and TBS) apologized. This was followed by an arraignment of the two "artists" that placed the devices thought out the city and a very strange press conference.
All that aside, a few questions pop in one's head:
Wow--that really is guerilla marketing--and though it caused panic--and in hindsight, wasn't well thought out in this age of post 9-11--in a weird way, it was sorta successful. That stupid cartoon probably doubled its viewership.
Boston is either very vigilant or very paranoid. That or other cities where similar devices were hidden need to work on their homeland security. Better safe than sorry!
iIt was kind of weird, too that the Turner news outlet CNN was all over this story--one wonders if these guys share the same office space...
The news conference with the two perps was strange enough--but it is unlikely they will do any time--clearly there is no malicious intent, and the statute itself is vague (what is "bomb-like"? Does anyone remember the shoe-bomber?)...
What kind of penalty should the corporations involved in this guerilla-marketing campaign gone awry pay?
What do others think?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16941043/