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February 01, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Bids for Boston bomb scare promo top $5,000
You all heard about the Turner Broadcasting promo for Aqua Teen Hunger force that went horribly wrong in Boston yesterday, prompting city-wide bomb scares and bringing roads and public transit to a standstill? Well, through the magic of the Internet you -- yes you -- can now own a piece of what will surely go down in the annals of PR as one of the worst gaffes ever, and a shining example of guerrilla marketing gone bad. One of the cartoonish, illuminated signs, which were placed throughout the city, is on auction at eBay. Current high bid: $5,000.
The signs depict a Mooninite, one of the characters from Aqua Teen Hunger Force a late night animated special. As part of the promotion, the illuminated objects were placed on bridges and other infrastructure across the city, sparking concern...no...panic that they were explosive devices (in fun, day glo colors, no less).
The eBay user offering the sign says it was a posted on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, is "not a bomb, sorry :[" and that he's going to use the money from the sale to fund more public art in Boston. "it shouldn't take guerrilla advertising to make our public spaces more exciting."
Posted by Paul Roberts on February 1, 2007 08:58 AM
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Its sad that the powers that be are so out of touch that this escalated as it did. The true blame lies with those in charge, and their dreams of being on the cover of Time Magazine with their heads superimposed over Rudy Giuliani's body.
Posted by: Reverend Brian DiBonaventure at February 1, 2007 11:46 AMHi - This was my auction and is now featured on http://mooninites.christopherlame.com/
christopher co-owns LeafyHost, a webhosting company which had a drive failure back in october, and people are STILL WAITING FOR THEIR RECOVERED DATA
Posted by: Anon at February 1, 2007 12:54 PMSelling evidence that would be used in the investigation of a crime (whether or not you agree with the investigation) is shady at best. Selling the property of an advertising company is even less palatable.
Posting the auction of stolen goods in this comment section is abhorrent.
Posted by: Jon Yurek at February 1, 2007 01:07 PMIt's a shame that Christopher has the time to be putting into this endeavour of questionable legality. Surely he should be be busy recovering data for his LeafHost customers.
Never Forget!
Posted by: Pete Shaw at February 1, 2007 01:21 PMHey Christopher: Stop auctioning stuff you stole and recover your customers' data!
Posted by: soupy at February 1, 2007 02:16 PMThis is rediculous. It's a circuit board, some LEDs, and few components and some batteries. And they're hung 20 to 30 feet off the ground on walls. When they finally released a picture of this (About 6 hours after it all started, I couldn't believe this got the whole city shutdown.
Sheeeeeeesh.
Posted by: David Reeves at February 1, 2007 02:37 PMWe didn't steal these guys, they were abandoned on OUR property.
Posted by: Lu at February 1, 2007 04:17 PMTo be honest, the whole story is bloody helerious! The authorities have all got egg on their faces, for what I would call panic for no rhime or reason. This is typical when someone starts speculating about something they have no clue about. A bunch of flashing LED's? Come on!
Maybe they should take the case to the international court so the two could be tried for possesing weapons of mass panic!
Law Enforcement today has to question everything.
In the NE, they think differently than the rest.
They shot first and ask questions later. Basically, they're negative.
Aqua Teens is like Pokemon. The kids know it well but the parents are clueless. Turner Broadcasting should have informed law enforcement. But if they would have they probably have been shot down and warned. So here we are. The ratings this week on the cartoon network should spike.
This is funny in a way. Good idea for making money, but the questions is whether it will work next time it goes up on eBay.
Posted by: reverse auctions at February 11, 2007 08:39 PMTOP STORIES
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