This ATHT/LiteBrite/Boston Bomb Scare Thing: Win or Fail?

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This ATHT/LiteBrite/Boston Bomb Scare Thing: Win or Fail?

Post by dokool » Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:54 pm

So we're all of the creative inclination here, and I'm curious as to what everyone (inside and outside the US) things about the latest 'terrorist threat' in Boston.

For those of you just joining the broadcast, here's a quick recap:

-Adult Swim hires marketing firm to design guerrilla campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

-Marketing firm makes these portable LED throwies - they're essentially LiteBrites run on batteries, with magnets so they can be attached to anything metallic. They show a Mooninite flipping the bird.

-Said mini-billboards are put in various random locations in about a dozen cities. They remain there for 2-3 weeks, mostly unnoticed except for people who get the reference, take a photo or two, and blog about it.

-Suddenly, someone reports "suspicious devices" to Boston's PD. Everyone panics:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070131/ts_ ... oston_dc_3

-People realize what they are. Boston officials start to get pissed, incredibly so. The guys behind the campaign are arrested. Adult Swim airs an apology.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249110,00.html

-The two guys plead not guilty, the judge appears to have some common sense about the whole thing:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/01/boston ... topstories

-Upon getting out of the clink they give a press conference, the contents of which can either be described as epic win (if you find the whole thing funny) or fail (if you were a reporter trying to get a question answered):

http://wbztv.com/video/?id=28369@wbz.dayport.com



Was this a stupid campaign or marketing genius? Were the guys asshats for not alerting the cops beforehand? Is the fact that Boston's the only city that seems to have gotten upset about this telling?

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Post by dokidoki » Thu Feb 01, 2007 11:20 pm

Was this a stupid campaign or marketing genius?
They've been in cities for weeks and I never heard about them. Now I can't stop hearing about the damn things. (and the upcoming movie)

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Post by Orwell » Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:41 am

Boston is just jealous nobody crashed a plane into it. They had to jump for the next best thing, lite brites. This whole terrorism alert thing is a load of shit. I'm more worried about today's teenagers who attempt to poison city water supplies, forget where I saw the article, and I'm too lazy to hunt it down. If we should be stepping up security for anything, I say we do it for the homeless people who random kids go set on fire or stone to death. There are sooo many more worthy causes all the funds, time and effort could be going to. Maybe, just maybe, I could see this sort of terrorism alert in Spain or britain, or, you know, where some terrorists might actually be. Even commies under the bed were better, at least you had a chance of being hit with a nucular[sic] weapon. Relevant reaction picture:
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Post by Flint the Dwarf » Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:37 pm

Orwell wrote:Boston is just jealous nobody crashed a plane into it.

:lol:

Oh god. I didn't even read the rest of your post, but it gets two gold stars.
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Post by godix » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:11 pm

My reaction was I laughed a lot. Then I saw a picture of what these things are and I laughed even more that they scared anyone. Then I heard they actually detonated one of the devices as a precaution and I almost pissed myself laughing.

From a totally different perspective, they couldn't have asked for a better campaign. Now there are more people who have heard about this show than ever. So much so I'm wondering how I can get police to think promos from the next video I release are terrorism related. Since my next video is likely to involve shit designed for spying I'm thinking there might be some good opportunities here.
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Post by Minion » Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:46 pm

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Post by Zarxrax » Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:27 pm

The main thing that irks me about this whole deal is the sheer incompetence of the Boston officials, and no, I'm not even saying that they should have known these things weren't bombs just by looking at them.

The problem, is there were maybe about 50 of these things hanging around the city, in plain view (in fact, in locations where people would definitely be looking at them), with freaking blinking lights all over them, and they were there for over two weeks.

On the off chance that these things HAD actually been bombs, Boston would be a pile of fucking rubble right now. Heaven help us if terrorists ever try to plant REAL bombs throughout a city--you know, the kind that are hidden, don't have blinking shit to call your attention, and probably aren't sitting there for over an hour.

That said, I think it was an awesome marketing campaign, and I applaud the two guys for their press release. The Boston officials who caused the panic should reimburse the city through their own damn pockets because they were such fucking morons, not by picking on these guys who did nothing wrong.

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Post by requiett » Sat Feb 03, 2007 1:04 pm

Win for ATHF.
Fail for America's reaction.

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Post by Fall_Child42 » Sat Feb 03, 2007 2:33 pm

Well I for one, think that yes, Boston Overreacted, Yes these people are taking the blame for something that is not my fault. My biggest ABSOLUTE BIGGEST dissapoint ment in the whole thing though, is that they took an artistic grafitti philosophy (which i quite admire)

Take back the streets and modify your surroundings yourself, don't let it be coverd by corporate messages and advertisements. And they used it for Corporate Advertisements.

Guerrilla Marketing can go to hell.
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Post by guy07 » Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:12 pm

I laughed much :)

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