the world is still safe from talking milkshakes

[topaz]

The dust has begun to settle in Boston.  If you have been ignoring the news for the last twenty-four hours or so, we had a bomb scare yesterday: the sudden discovery of dozens of mysterious electronic devices installed at outdoor locations throughout downtown Boston caused the city to shut down several roadways and bridges for several hours and destroy the mysterious things, until someone figured out that they were part of a guerilla marketing campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, arranged by Turner Broadcasting.

(I'm not providing links -- if you need more background, go to your favorite news site and search for "Boston bomb")

It is hard for me to see that anyone involved in this debacle was really making with the smrts.  The BPD certainly did not exactly have their finest hour.  The first device that they were alerted to?  That I can understand approaching with care, even if it doesn't appear to fit any known bomb profile.  But once it had been neutralized and disassembled?  It should not have taken a genius leap to figure out that they were following a pattern of defusing NON-BOMBS.  The fact that they have gone on to arrest the guys who were hired to build and install these things is just a shameful attempt at saving face.

On the other hand, it's not as though Turner Broadcasting and the marketing company they retained for this stunt are blameless.  I would love to have been in the planning meeting for this one:

"I have a pitch for our new ATHF campaign.  Let's build a bunch of circuit boards with flashy lights and install them anonymously around major metropolitan areas!"

"But won't everyone be able to tell that it's a cheesy marketing campaign?"

"Good point.  Let's just not include anything on the device that identifies us.  And make sure that we don't coordinate with the local authorities either!"

"Perfect!  What could go wrong?"

There's an old Bloom County comic strip, making fun of The People's Court, that has Judge Wapner saying, "Bailiff, would you please kick both these litigants in the butt?"  That's about how I'm feeling today.

Comments

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

the folks they arrested are two local artsy geeks, one of whom i know. according to one article, their attorney told them not to talk to reporters about the case, so they told the news crews they would only answer questions about '70's haircuts.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

HAH! that's brilliant.

I love this AP article (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-01-devices_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA) on the mess:

The men did not speak or enter their own pleas, but they appeared amused and smiled as the prosecutor talked about the device found at Sullivan Station underneath Interstate 93, looking like it had C-4 explosive.

"The appearance of this device and its location are crucial," Grossman said. "This device looks like a bomb."

Some in the gallery snickered.

And:

In Seattle and several suburbs, the removal of the signs was low-key. "We haven't had any calls to 911 regarding this," Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said Wednesday.

[sconstant.livejournal.com]

I don't get it - these things were in several other cities. Did these two people travel around, and happened to only cause a fuss in their home city? If not, they were just technicians doing the same thing others were doing in other places (the things looked the same all over), and so the art project claim is a bit farfetched.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

I think it's pretty clear that it's not an art project per se -- nevertheless, the two guys who apparently put up these things in Boston are local artists and have been doing guerrilla art installations for some time. I don't know if anyone knows yet who has been responsible for physically assembling and installing the signs in other cities. It's a good question.

[cutieperson]

i am so sad to have only found a snippet of the (what i am told is) lengthy press conference on 70s haircuts :(

[keyne.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was watching TV news when the BIG! BREAKING! STORY! switched over to the conference, and they started talking about Afros and the like. I caught on right away, but the anchors were thoroughly confused. After a minute or so they sniffed that "when they start talking sense, we'll be back". I'd be surprised if anybody broadcast the whole thing :}

[cutieperson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx2ytr2Oyv4&eurl=

:)

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Fantastic!

[rsc.livejournal.com]

You nailed it exactly. I gather (since I don't pay any attention to such things myself) that the local news stations didn't exactly cover themselves in glory either.

[lilbjorn.livejournal.com]

The world may be safe from talking milkshakes, but apparently not from laughing meatballs (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/01/national/main2420426.shtml).

[soundofdoom.livejournal.com]

I remember that bloom county strip.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Berke Breathed was totally the man.

[innerdoggie.livejournal.com]

What a story -- I don't know what to think. The marketing campaign didn't get the same reaction in other cities, but were the light-boxes placed differently in those cities? If I saw an electronic device (yeah, even a VCR) on a bridge that would look suspicious, but on a light pole way less so.

It seems that the marketeers should have accounted for the country's jittery mood, even if they don't think the jitters are justified. And they sure weren't in a hurry to own up to the advertising prank.

I must admit a dislike for "performance artists" and white boys with dreadlocks, so I recuse myself from the jury, your honor.