http://www.myfoxboston.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=2233130&version=33&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Notice Fox which has nothing as cool as ATHF avoids saying the name of the show...

Sounds like over-reaction as usual, in our hysterical "won't someone think of the children" post-9/11 world. 

To me, it seems more like a case of "What in the fudge were they thinking of?"

What kind of moron sits down, and decides "Hey, let's place a bunch of anonymous packages on busses and under bridges, in order to get some free publicity!"

To me, it sounds like this is exactly what they wanted: to get them confused as being bombs, so they would have their name splashed all over the news.  And now I bet there will be some large criminal fines to go along with them.

And considering what happened in July 2005 London bombings, I can't blame Emergency Services for reacting the way they did.

To me, it seems more like a case of "What in the fudge were they thinking of?"

What kind of moron sits down, and decides "Hey, let's place a bunch of anonymous packages on busses and under bridges, in order to get some free publicity!"

To me, it sounds like this is exactly what they wanted: to get them confused as being bombs, so they would have their name splashed all over the news.  And now I bet there will be some large criminal fines to go along with them.

And considering what happened in July 2005 London bombings, I can't blame Emergency Services for reacting the way they did.


funny, because I saw one of these in a Flickr stream in Phili or Pittsburg, and I didn't see anything in the news about those.

What's amazing is that it took until 4:30 for Turner to announce it was indeed a publicity stunt, when these had been causing headaches for much longer than that during the day.

Bombs are not meant to be seen before they are detonated, except in some pretty rare cases. Unless I miss my guess, I doubt very much that someone would design a bomb with a very visible LED graphic on the front of them.

Too many people surrender common sense in these situations, and those are the people that increasingly seem to be in charge.

What's amazing is that it took until 4:30 for Turner to announce it was indeed a publicity stunt, when these had been causing headaches for much longer than that during the day.

Bombs are not meant to be seen before they are detonated, except in some pretty rare cases. Unless I miss my guess, I doubt very much that someone would design a bomb with a very visible LED graphic on the front of them.

Too many people surrender common sense in these situations, and those are the people that increasingly seem to be in charge.


The long delay from Turner puzles me also.  Especially since this item was heavily covered on CNN, another Turner company.

I bet that once they (the publicity people at Cartoon Network) realized what was going on, they basically panicked.  By then it was big news all over the place, and they were either afraid to go public, or the decision to go public was tied up among different levels of the company.

And don't forget, some of the packages in London were discovered shortly before they detonated.  And it has long been a practice to disguise bombs as "innocent" items.  Soviet troops often disguised them inside of toys.  David Koresh disguised his as harmless packages (often from people known by the targets.  Eric Rudolph Placed his in plain sight, often looking like a piece of discarded trash.

The long delay from Turner puzles me also.  Especially since this item was heavily covered on CNN, another Turner company.

I bet that once they (the publicity people at Cartoon Network) realized what was going on, they basically panicked.  By then it was big news all over the place, and they were either afraid to go public, or the decision to go public was tied up among different levels of the company.

And don't forget, some of the packages in London were discovered shortly before they detonated.  And it has long been a practice to disguise bombs as "innocent" items.  Soviet troops often disguised them inside of toys.  David Koresh disguised his as harmless packages (often from people known by the targets.  Eric Rudolph Placed his in plain sight, often looking like a piece of discarded trash.


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

They were in place in 10 other cities, for 2 to 3 weeks, and they pulled permits for it in all of them.  I'm guessing the long delay was because they probably forgot the campaign was even running by now.  Yet all the politicians and law enforcement are still going on about how serious it was.  Yeah, a serious lack of communication.  I hope when they are looking for people to blame, they look to their own.

While I know people have hidden bombs before in plain site, they never made them resemble a bomb.  That's the key here.  These don't look like something you'd find everyday, and they weren't place anywhere accessible by the everyday public. In TV Police speak, it doesn't fit the same M.O.

They were in place in 10 other cities, for 2 to 3 weeks, and they pulled permits for it in all of them.  I'm guessing the long delay was because they probably forgot the campaign was even running by now.  Yet all the politicians and law enforcement are still going on about how serious it was.  Yeah, a serious lack of communication.  I hope when they are looking for people to blame, they look to their own.


This is something that really puzzles me.  For one, why in the hell were they left for over 2 weeks after the campaign?  If nothing else, Cartoon Network should be held responsible for littering.

And did they get any permits to do this?  Most of the time, permits are required to do something like this.  Was it permitted, or was it some kind of "Gurilla Advertising"?

And it must not have been very effective.  Seems like they wasted a lot of money doing this.  I did a google news search, and did not find one mention of this campaign before today.  It must have been a huge flop.

Seems like they would have been better off printing up several thousand fliers, and pasting them around on light poles and sides of buildings.  I bet far more people have seen "Obey Giant" stickers then ever saw this lame promotional attempt.

Since nobody else seems to be paying attention to this, I turn the discussion back over to you Chucky.  ;)

This seems way too odd....

This is something that really puzzles me.  For one, why in the hell were they left for over 2 weeks after the campaign?  If nothing else, Cartoon Network should be held responsible for littering.

And did they get any permits to do this?  Most of the time, permits are required to do something like this.  Was it permitted, or was it some kind of "Gurilla Advertising"?

And it must not have been very effective.  Seems like they wasted a lot of money doing this.  I did a google news search, and did not find one mention of this campaign before today.  It must have been a huge flop.

Seems like they would have been better off printing up several thousand fliers, and pasting them around on light poles and sides of buildings.  I bet far more people have seen "Obey Giant" stickers then ever saw this lame promotional attempt.

Since nobody else seems to be paying attention to this, I turn the discussion back over to you Chucky.  ;)


Google updates their index every six weeks, freshbot visits sites (like amIright) which update everyday, but most of the pages that show up immediately, disappear out of the index after a few days, and then re-appear if they are deemed relevant (linked to by other sites, other stuff).  So a campaign that just ran, probably won't show up in google.  The show is far enough off the radar that not too many news outlets would cover it. I have Harvey Birdman in my google news watch, and even when a new season starts, I see maybe a dozen news articles about during the entire 6 week run.

That said, various forums & blogs (fark, metafilter, boingboing) I visited this afternoon had updates, and links to sightings on the web.  There were pictures on Flickr someone took off one two weeks ago in Philadelphia, someone found the marketing company responsible, etc. Not saying you didn't look, but google is not the best source for something that is breaking news.

as for littering, I don't know how long it was supposed to last, I haven't seen references to that.  The Make Blog, which I follow daily, covers a lot about LED graffiti art, and most of the stuff they talk about is designed to last around a month.  30 high intensity LEDs with a big bundle of D cells (from what I saw of the close ups), could probably run for 2 or 3 months 24 hours a day. I doubt it was designed for a one week run.  The lack of mention on the Adult Swim bumps would also indicate they may have been waiting for people to find them and spawn a little treasure hunt type of thing, or send in pictures of them, etc.

Enter in a police department and a new mayor with little experience, and a city hall that clearly doesn't pay attention to stuff it write permits for, and well, you get hysteria.  I've seen a couple people mention that permits were issued, but the news articles don't.  Fox News' talking heads were mentioning the name of the show, and they couldn't even get that right, so I doubt any of the news outlets even have the correct information (not surprised). Better to have the film crew out shooting and the news anchors shooting off random theories based on nothing, rather than say we'll be back when we have more info.

Google updates their index every six weeks, freshbot visits sites (like amIright) which update everyday, but most of the pages that show up immediately, disappear out of the index after a few days, and then re-appear if they are deemed relevant (linked to by other sites, other stuff).  So a campaign that just ran, probably won't show up in google. 


I actually do searches like this at the "Google News" site.  This is updated constantly.  And it covers not only regular news and press, but press releases, and some blogs.  I would figure that there would have been at least some mention of this campaign if anybody had noticed it.  But I found nothing.  Not even a press release from when it happened to either claim credit, or tell people to look for it.

I actually do searches like this at the "Google News" site.  This is updated constantly.  And it covers not only regular news and press, but press releases, and some blogs.  I would figure that there would have been at least some mention of this campaign if anybody had noticed it.  But I found nothing.  Not even a press release from when it happened to either claim credit, or tell people to look for it.


Like I said, I keep a couple google news alerts active for stuff, and most of the Adult Swim stuff barely even rates a mention for a new season of a show, let alone some sort of underground marketing campaign.  It's not something that's designed for the traditional press, it's meant for online consumption.  Google News does cover some blogs, but not many.  They're in the process of rolling out a dedicated blog search, so I imagine if that ever gets finished, you'd have had more luck finding it there.

Until today, I'm sure there wasn't much mention of it anyways. It doesn't sound like it was working.  The goal of stuff like this is to generate buzz on the web for cheap.  I'm sure it cost them $10K or less, which is a blip in the ad world.  Even online ad runs usually cost more than that on the big sites. You could probably run 20 different types of these campaigns (LEDs, or spray graffiti, or some other unknown thing), make some noise with one of the approaches, and still come out ahead.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xjohnpaulx/361613084/in/photostream/

here it is up close... I wonder where they think the explosive material was hidden.

I just watched the news conference of the 2 guys arrested in this.  Hopefully, they will not get much more then a "slap on the wrist" over this.    However, their performance in the conference will not win them very many supporters.

After watching the conference, I wonder if they are in the wrong line of work.  Maybe they should try out as a modern version of "Cheech & Chong".  Or for parts in a live-action version of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

Wow, so giant LITE BRTE sets are now considered bombs?

This world is turning completely upside down if every time we see a circut board with lights as a bomb...

And since when do bombs have bright flashing lights on them? Maybe in HOLLYWOOD MOVIES

Who tries to hide a bomb and uses flashing lights?

The only reason I can see for the "outrage" by Boston is their embarrassment for having these things around for 3 weeks and not noticing them until now...8 other cites had these things around without this reaction.

Umm don't the "terrorists" win we we lose our minds over such silliness as this...when we have such fear instilled in us over every unfamiliar object, every box, every parked car...haven't we lost the freedoms we are trying to protect by reacting like this?

Oh yeah, thanks for pumping up the publicity for ATHF, couldn't of had better free PR....

Wow, so giant LITE BRTE sets are now considered bombs?

This world is turning completely upside down if every time we see a circut board with lights as a bomb...

And since when do bombs have bright flashing lights on them? Maybe in HOLLYWOOD MOVIES

Who tries to hide a bomb and uses flashing lights?


The lights were no longer working in the devices that were found.  And as I have said before, most of the times bombs are disguised as innocent items.  Only in movies (normally bad comedy films) is a bomb made with big letters on the outside that says "BOMB".

It is more a case of where they were found that raised suspicion.  The inital ones found were on the supports under a bridge, and in a subway station.  Both of these would be prime targets of a terrorist attack (like in London).  In reality, improvised bombs can be really small.  A 9 molt bettery, some electronics for a timer, and an amount of explosive, in almost any shape.

In fact, a bomb of the shape and design of the devices would work very similar as a Claymore mine.  A large flat layer of explosives, with shrapnel placed on top of it.  Plastic would be a particularly insidious form of shrapnel, since it would be ahrd to detect by an x-ray machine.

And did they get any permits to do this?  Most of the time, permits are required to do something like this.  Was it permitted, or was it some kind of "Gurilla Advertising"?



The Mayor said if the advertising agency had let them know it would have been a different story, but no one told them about it.  A call was made about a suspicious package, so the police could not ignore it.  It is my opinion that it was a stupid way to have a campaign.  Incendiary devices can come in all shapes and forms, and a lite brite giving you the finger would be tops on the list in my view, something you would see in a movie.  The thing that drives crazy about all this is that they keep referring to the guys who actually put these things in place as "kids",  one is 28 the other I believe is 25, way beyond the kid stage. Bottom line is you don't yell fire in a crowded theater, or places anything with batteries and wires under bridges. 

hmmm...i'm coming into this a little late, but i agree with the guy who asked how the heck do you confuse these things with bombs? i guess if you don'tw atch aqua teen hunger force, but still.  seems like just a cute little marketing campaign.  too bad those guys are going to get punished

That promotion wasn't good idea in the first place and the Moonites from "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" aren't well known cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny or Spider Man besides the "Adult Swim" viewers. Like that several newscasters act as if they never heard of the show, which been around for 5 years.



Also, who would look under bridges.


Haven't Turner ever thought of using old fashioned billboards or just place ads online  ::)

hmmm...i'm coming into this a little late, but i agree with the guy who asked how the heck do you confuse these things with bombs? i guess if you don'tw atch aqua teen hunger force, but still.  seems like just a cute little marketing campaign.  too bad those guys are going to get punished


They weren't working and they came equipped with batteries and wires and were place under bridges.  Batteries and wires are what you find in bombs.  It was stupid.

That promotion wasn't good idea in the first place and the Moonites from "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" aren't well known cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny or Spider Man besides the "Adult Swim" viewers. Like that several newscasters act as if they never heard of the show, which been around for 5 years.



Also, who would look under bridges.


Haven't Turner ever thought of using old fashioned billboards or just place ads online  ::)




I agree, not a good idea, but understanding that the show was an unusual one (fast food as superheros that actually don't "save" anyone or anything) and is  not well known, its not surprising that a renegade method of trying to advertise it was attempted. It actually fits in with the character of the show to a "T".

But the issue to me would seem to be Boston's Mayor, the police and local authorities response.

Instead of attempting to categorize this as a terrorist attack or prank, why not go back to the individuals who called in these "devices" as bombs to Boston 911?

I'm puzzled at how the general public can call these "devices" bombs. Most of the general public has never seen a real "bomb" other than on a Hollywood movie, TV or a bomb from an old WWII bomber plane. Just how the heck would the average Joe know any of these were bombs?

Supposing I dropped a PSP or other electric device on the ground, revealing, shock and surprise, batteries, wires and a circut board/transistors and the like, is that a bomb?

Should we call 911 and get the local police and FD running around like Keystone Cops to check out a busted game boy?

Instead of going after these two goofs who where hired to do this ad campain (and yes they should receive some type of punishment, for stupidity alone), why not go after the knee jerks who called in the false bomb scares for the claimed $1 Million Boston spent reacting to this incident?

Put the blame where it really should go...

It's a sign of how jumpy everybody is nowadays.  What happened in Boston didn't happen in the other cities, but it might have.  You get panicky citizens and nervous cops and before you know it, the city's incurred $750 grand in expenses and thrown two innocent clowns in the pokey.  I think the C.N. should have gone for another promo idea.  On the other hand, before the big to-do, I didn't know they were making an "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" movie.  Definitely giong to see that one.  It's number one in da hood G!

Man, that dude with the dreds looks like a typical Amherst stoner.  One of those Hampshire College stoners who stinks up the whole cafe with his b.o., while he's sitting on the terrace!
;D

I'm puzzled at how the general public can call these "devices" bombs. Most of the general public has never seen a real "bomb" other than on a Hollywood movie, TV or a bomb from an old WWII bomber plane. Just how the heck would the average Joe know any of these were bombs?

Supposing I dropped a PSP or other electric device on the ground, revealing, shock and surprise, batteries, wires and a circut board/transistors and the like, is that a bomb?

Should we call 911 and get the local police and FD running around like Keystone Cops to check out a busted game boy?

Instead of going after these two goofs who where hired to do this ad campain (and yes they should receive some type of punishment, for stupidity alone), why not go after the knee jerks who called in the false bomb scares for the claimed $1 Million Boston spent reacting to this incident?



There is a difference between you dropping your lame PSP to the ground, and going out at night and taping it under a bridge.  Or perhaps you don't see the difference, which is really troubling. If the gameboy has batteries taped to it, wires, and is taped to a beam on a bridge, absolutely investigate.

The general public doesn't know what a bomb looks like.  That is why the person called to say that there was something under the bridge, don't know what it is, but it has wires and batteries,  did absolutely the right thing.  Leave it to the experts to decide. All that had to be done, which was done in other cities but not Boston, was to pull a permit so that the authorities would know.  They didn't. To compound, when they saw it on the news they kept there mouths shut about it for about 6 more hours, savvy at taping things under bridges, but didn't know how to use a cel phone?

http://www.dyewell.com/saveboston/

Save Boston from the evil lite brites

A lot of people seem to have forgotton (or never heard) that a lot of bombs over the last 20 years have been disguised as toys.

This first came to notice during the Soviet-Afgan war in the 1980's.  Spetsnaz troops during that conflict thought that they might be able to terrorize villiages into submission by going after the children.  One of the tactics they devised was placing toys in the middle of fields and on roadways.

The toys however had a "surprise" inside, a hand grenade.  When the toy was picked up, the grenade exploded.  The result over the course of the war was hundreds of children killed, and hundreds more being blinded, loosing limbs, and horrible scaring.

During the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam's Army got the same idea when the Ayatollah started useing children as front-line troops.  They would frequently pull out of a position, leaving bahind toys and boxed that appeared to contain candy.  This was horribly effective, and also demoralizing.

And the practice has not stopped.  Yugoslavia, Somolia, Lyberia, Sudan, Chad, Congo, and many other regions see this kind of event frequently.  In regions where children are commonly in "Liberation Armies" at the ages of 6 and 7, wounding and killing children is simply seen as a "tactic of war" to kill potential recruits of the other side.

In fact, last year a new tactic was developed in Iraq.  On at least 3 occasions, suicide bombers would pull up in front of children, and attract them with candy and small toys.  They would then detonate their vehicle with crowds of children surrounding them.

I am sure that Allah has a special place reserved for "Martyrs" like that.  And it is not a paradise filled with virgins, rather it is a hell filled with fat hairy demons - with the "new martyr" taking the place as a "perpetual virgin".

Sorry, but can I get a some understanding on this?

Does everyone here really feel the response of the Boston PD & FD, the mayor and the general panic was justified considering the "devices" that were found?

If, as others have noted, that we should expect the average person to report such things as bombs (BTW, there is no official report stating any of these devices were taped to the underside of a bridge, but were hung from the sides from a bridge, not hidden in any form), then both our 911, PD & FD services need to set up some better guidelines rather than let them check out everything that gets called in just beacuse someone thinks its a bomb...

Both the former Boston prosecutor and defense attorney agree, the DA office is going to have a very difficult time trying to show that this devices were placed with malice. The two knuckleheads that did the deed will probably get a misdemeanor charge at best. Calling them terrorists, as the mayor did, is crazy. Just because someone was scared by their actions does not mean there was intent to harm or cause panic.

I'm not trying to debate the issue, I just believe the (over) reaction of the city is a bad omen for the all US cities in the future...if all it takes is a few handily placed things as this to cause a panic, then we are in for much trouble.

Sorry, but can I get a some understanding on this?

Does everyone here really feel the response of the Boston PD & FD, the mayor and the general panic was justified considering the "devices" that were found?


Considering that the first devices were found under bridges and in subway stations, yes.  These would be primary targets for this type of attack if it was done by terrorists (look at the July 2005 London attacks).

However, if the packages were only found on street corners and on the sides of random buildings, then it would have probably been excessive.  To me, it was where they decided to place their "devices" that bothered me the most.

Device outside Starbucks or Sears: no big deal
Device under a busy highway bridge or inside a subway station: very big deal

Emergency Services are trained to take anything like this seriously.  And the mindset is most often "better safe then sorry".

Not to mention that bombing in the US is not entirely unheard of.  After all, it was just over 3 years ago that Brian Wells was killed with a small bomb locked around his neck.  The cops at the scene did not believe him when he told them about it, but they treated it seriously.  And as we all know, the bomb was real.