Heads Need to Roll at Turner Broadcasting
As someone who works in the marketing space I’m sickened to find out that the bomb scares happening all over Boston today turned out to be part of a publicity stunt by Turner Broadcasting.
I don’t know who the agency working this is, but I hope their heads roll and that they never work again. This is pathetic.
They’ve just released this statement:
The ”packages” in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger. They are part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cities in support of Adult Swim’s animated television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They have been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Parent company Turner Broadcasting is in contact with local and federal law enforcement on the exact locations of the billboards. We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger.
Shirley Powell
SVP, Corporate Communications
Oh good! Let’s put things under bridges in major cities across the country. Yeah that’s a good one.
Get a clue people. You’re giving those of us who want to be creative but still use our brains a bad name.
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Comments(16)
Dude, these things have been in place for 2-3 weeks and they only now were noticed? Heads need to roll at the Boston Police Department, NOT the marketing folks at Turner.
Particularly if they have permits and such, which I’d guess they need to put billboards and stuff up.
[...] Thanks to a heads-up from colleague and friend C.C. Chapman, this defies belief and is currently breaking news in Boston : [...]
What looks like bombs under bridges? Real-world disruption in Boston and other cities due to crazy advertising campaign
C.C. Chapman writes about today’s craziness in Boston caused by an advertising campaign gone wrong. Reading the news out of the Boston Globe, it sounds like a pretty crazy day there. More news here. And it’s not just Boston… these
Hey, I sent them a bill.
Just read the article and raced over here. Oh, CC’s going to have something to say about this, and in your own home town no less. All I can say is wow, and wow. Was there not one person in the room willing to stand up and say, this is a bad idea. The city of Boston better get compensated for all the wasted resources in use today.
Also, in case there was any question about why these devices caused such a scare.. here is the device:
And here are some IEDs currently being used to attack US troops.
I couldn’t tell the difference from a distance. Could you?
[...] So this whole publicity crap that made Boston a mess yesterday is still on my mind. What bothers me most I think is as I stop and think about it is that I’m not only pissed at the agency who came up with the idea, but I’m also a little disappointed in Boston’s Police. If these things have been up for a few weeks how come no one has noticed them until now. Don’t we have Homeland Security people with big budgets running around the country protecting us? Thats what I keep hearing anyways. How did they miss this? Makes you wonder where all that money is going doesn’t it? [...]
I agree with comment #7. Homeland Security “reacting” this way, that concerns me the most too. Security is not a reaction it is a prevention. For anyone to assume they are IED’s is crazy, an IED can be ANYTHING. I truly wonder if we are hearing the full story, I tend to think maybe someone put the scare out there, this might be were the crime is if that was intentional. How did it get escalated to the point it did? I think the real crime has not been addressed yet. Then again, it could be as simple as a returned soldier that spotted one under a bridge and reported it as a “possible” IED (and respectfully so) and then authorities went to find them under all the bridges. Who is really winning this…?
[...] (Hat tip: C.C. Chapman) [...]
I agree that these schmucks ruined the day of an entire city, and they are only pouring salt on the wound by making a mockery of their arrest today. The marketers at Turner should have known better as well.
In addition to–not in place of–the blame that belongs at the feet of Turner and their agents, here’s another thought:
Must we think that every blinking piece of electronics is a nefarious plot by the bad guys? While it’s good to be vigilant against the very real threat of terrorism, can’t we retain some semblance of a BS filter at the same time? Must every “suspicious package” shut down an entire city or airport, or can we still make educated, cautious judgement calls in this day and age?
Here in NYC everyone got the “idea” … what’s wrong with you Boston. … watch some AdultSwim tonight.
http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2007/02/01/aqua_teen_hunge.php
[...] So, you’ve got some stupid marketers from Time Warner who thought putting things under bridges was a good idea. No doubt the entire idea of putting some kids up to your stunt was not real smart. It’s also not the a really smart idea to upset and disrupt the lives of the very people you’re marketing to. [...]
This is excatly why I keep banging on about getting PR involved when Adv or Marktng campaigns are being developed; any PR worth his/her salt would have WPB’d this at concept stage
This is all an over-reaction. They were basically lit-up billboards that went unnoticed in Boston for two weeks, and completely unnoticed in nine other cities. People need to get off their high horse about “being responsible”… it was just a run of the mill “guerilla” outdoor campaign. No big deal, really.
I read a great point over on Aint It Cool – it’s illegal to start panic in a movie theater by shouting fire, but when Fox News shouts “bomb” they just get rewarded with higher ratings.
I just stumbled upon this thread, a year later. I remember when all this went down, about the ATHF movie. The main reason this was such a big deal, is because people from boston are semi-retarded. Get in your CAH, and pick up NOMAH, and get a life.
Basically your crying because you thought somebody was posing a threat to you. That makes you the ass. Somebody was just trying to get paid, just like the news companies that blew this up. And just like CC, get it?