Boston Mayor Thomas Menino confirmed today that Turner Broadcasting has agreed to pay the city of Boston at least some of the $1 million in expenses it incurred as a result of a citywide panic inadvertently instigated by the network this week.
Wednesday, Boston police shut down streets, deployed bomb squads, and remained on high alert after 10 blinking devices were discovered throughout the city. The devices were later discovered to be part of a street marketing campaign to promote the Cartoon Network show Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Turner immediately apologized for the misunderstanding and informed law enforcement officials where the remaining devices were located in those cities. The other cities where the campaign took place--San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas--reported no panic at the sight of the blinking characters, which were posed with one arm upraised and "flipping the bird."
The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office threatened legal action, and the Department of Homeland Security expressed dismay at the marketing campaign. Additionally, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry contacted the heads of the FTC and FCC asking them to step in and make sure Turner pays the city the money, then asked if they wanted to go windsurfing at the beach house.
As for plans to release the upcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie in theaters nationwide, Menino said "I would like to ban it [in Boston] but I can't."
Comments (47)
Ok, Boston, the ATHF Mooninites ad had everything a bomb had, except for the actual bomb part. ATHF creators should have to give one penny to those slack jawed, bumpkin idiots for pissing themselves over a fancy lite-brite.
This will surely be mocked in a future South Park episode. I can't wait.
How do you mistake mooninites for bombs? Boston must be pretty stupid.
I agree with Proman84 - of course I see a lot of what goes on because of what I do for a living. Most people have no idea how seriously we should take national security.
Boston's cowardice?
I am amazed to see so many posts by idiots. The cops were doing their job. These days you don't know where the threat could come from. ATHF marketers are the ones who blew it.
This incident definitely got the show a ton of free publicity. Never before have I seen the show's title in so many mainstream publications. I just hope the movie's awesomeness is going to at least equal Boston's cowardice, if not surpass it.
Geez people get a grip. Boston blew it.As for Turner paying 1M, thats not even a slap on the wrist, so i think Boston knows they goofed.As for the windsurfing? what has that got to do with anything?
the ***s in boston should hvae took a look at it dur they were walking right bye it and saw it why not took a closer look.
boston = drama queenswhat a massive over reaction :)
All hail Thomas Menino, the Crybaby Mayor of Stupidtown.:P
is it just me or the price tag go up everytime they talk to an official from Boston?freaken sad that once again the stupid get rewarded
ATHF shouldn't be blamed for Boston's stupidity. Massachusetts lets some really messed up *** pass, but overreacts over an advertising campaign? This is just wrong.
Mumbles Menino...go to hell.
Ok, first of all... did they listen to the call to know he was inviting them to windsurf? Why is that part even in this story!? A completely useless sentence in an otherwise over the top story.And now on to the real issue... people being scared out of their wits. Is it just me, or did Boston-ites completely blow this out of proportion? 9 other cities were done the exact same way and there was no panic there. Are they trying to say that everyone in these 9 other cities are selfish and don't pay attention to their surroundings? That would go against the entire reason for putting an ad campaign there, now wouldn't it?I cant say I like ATHF (actually cant stand would be a better term) but I think its ridiculous what has happened here.Although... if you think about it... their marketing ploy worked better than they ever hoped! Now all sorts of people know who ATHF is, more than the signs could ever do!moreless
I Bet you it was some homeless guy that all he did that morning was stare at the light bright, until he found a street corner, with bible in hand where he could rant about the bomb attack on Boston, then some fool actually agreed with the *** and called the cops.Look at is this way, the mayor of Boston gets publicity on national TV, and looks like he is defending his city, he is really the prick who's trying to get Turner to pay. Such a stupid thing though, like someone said before, what does turner have to pay for that the government already pays for...nothing.
nutters.
This is the problem here: you're scared. You're all too scared. The fact that a whole town or country will assume a shiny box is a bomb isn't security, it's paranoia. I don't know how you give therapy to a country or a society, but we certainly need to find a way, and fast.
The amount of fear shown here is far scarier than any publicity stunt in history. You know how in old action movies when the hero fought the villain there was always some bystander who thought "it's just an ad for a movie or something?". Consider what it takes to make the same man to see an ad for a movie and think it's a terrorist attack.
this is rediculouse yes turnner was wrong but the pd mistook a lite brite for bombs theyt are more wrong in the end
I think that Boston is fine. They screwed up but so does everyone, like a geocache was found under a bridge so they blew that up to (a game of hide and go seek with ammo boxes filled with crap, and gps's it's fun) So I think this is a little incident, no one did it right, AS should have said "Hey, look there, that's us!" but Boston could've freaking chilled a bit instead of biting their head off and screaming about it. Neither of them are that great, and what if you were some random person (ATHF is a cult TV show with a specific following of people who like random humor, like me) and you didn't have a clue what ATHF was and you saw a little square black thing with wires and battery's hanging from it and it was flipping you off. They probably thought it was the falsified bomber's sign. Think about it.moreless
I find this whole thing funny. I get the feeling that Boston is filled with losers...too bad, I like the Bruins.
nooooooobs
Well I think that they jumped at the media too quickly about the divices. I think they realized it was not a bomb too late after they alarmed the nation about it and were too embarressed to back off. 1 million is nothing now compared to what they are going to make off the movie because of the contraversy.
It might be negative publicity but I think many people are going to adultswim just to figure out what the hell a mooninite is.. ROFLMAO..
I love Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
IT is addictive trash..
Okay...on Sunday night (...they should have done it already...) CARTOON NETWORK needs to pre-empt anything they planned on showing with a "Best of" ATHF marathon, showing all of the Mooninite episodes. Maybe wait 'til after the Super Bowl. If this was done two nights ago, at the height of the insanity and at the same time as their apology, they would have scored legions of new fans. As it stands now, they've already missed striking while the iron was hot, but they can still catch it before it cools.
Also, they should start selling the Lite-Brites, with packaging that says "Terrorist Starter-Kit". I know I'd buy one. Or better yet, give them away at the opening of the movie in various places. Especially Boston. That could be one way to negate any damaging effects of the negative reviews that are already starting to appear.moreless
No way should anyone pay Boston for their idiocy. Plus, what are they paying for that isn't already paid for by the government? Nothing.
pay the f'n money and I hope to god Turner Broadcasting Headquarters blows up and to everyone making fun of Boston FU!
Turner shouldnt pay a cent. They are the ones that overreacted. I mean, come on, if I left a lite brite on the street, would they call bomb squad for that? I cant believe Boston is so ***ed.
Ha.
Er just PWNed all of Boston, now it's fighting back. This whole thing is just plain silly.
With the publicity they've gotten around the country from this, from a half-page newspaper article, to every web site talking about it, and even on the daily show (where i bet a lot of [as] viewers are watching)... All in all, their marketing campaign succeeded... People are talking about the movie, and thats what they wanted... Did it go the way they wanted? not likely... but for $1m theyve certainly generated some buzz about the movie...and to the person who said that terrorists wouldn't put flashing lights on a bomb, why not? hide it in plain sight... nobody's going to make a bomb that when you look at it, you thing "oh *** thats gonna blow up"and if you think about it, before 9/11 did you think a plane could be used for tearing down a skyscraper? I've always said "the best place to hide a bomb is in a puppy, you send it out, someone picks it up saying 'aww cute' and boom"but yeah, they definitely overreacted... but thats what fear does... :\moreless
When I heard the bomb squad was blowing them up, all I could think of was a possible headline...
"Bomb Squad Detonates Lite-Brite"
ALIENS ARE FLIPPING ME THE BIRD!!!! IT'S A TERRORIST ATTACK!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!! Boston people are funny, we are laughing at them and not with them.
Hey! Boston happens to have a very nice wax museum of witches. .. That's the only part of Boston I remember from my trip. .... There might've been a McDonalds too.
you bostons aways good a laugh. seriously boston has be the sadest city ever. Wow you help with the revolationary war a little. What the hell have you done for us in the past 200 years?
They had been up for like 12 hours before anybody reported them. So you know all kinds of people saw them and knew they were not bombs. And there is no way it cost $1,000,000, all those cops and firemen where already at work.
Okay, first of all, I think that the mayor of Boston, and everyone who is overreacting to an ad campaign is a complete moron. These signs don't look a thing like a bomb to me, and besides that, anything can be a bomb, from a car, to a suitcase, to a pair of freaking shoes, so don't give me, "They looked like bombs."
Secondly, these signs were up for WEEKS before anyone called to complain, and none of the nine other major cities where these signs were placed crapped their bloomers over the Mooninites.
And thirdly, these idiots first said the "hoax" (which it clearly was not) cost the city $500,000, then they said it was $750,000. Now Turner has essentially paid an idiot tax of 1 million dollars to Bean town.
All this whole incident has shown us is the rampant stupidity that plagues the city of Boston. Now I'm not claiming that all Bostonians are idiots, but clearly you are led by them.moreless
Just some of the $1 million? This was a marketing ploy that went completley out of hand -- they should have really thought about where they are attaching these things -- attaching them to the base of bridges...even INTERSTATE bridges? You see wires, you see batteries ... if I saw these devices attached to such things, I would kinda freak out, regardless of what patterns or designs appear on it. Seeing wires and batteries, in this day and age, people would (and did) think bomb!
This is a gold mine! Next time there's a clever advertisement, just overreact, work people in to a frenzy, and let the corporate settlement money roll in!
How much would it cost for this kind of publicity? I think Turner made out like a bunch of bandits!
I don't like Boston either because its the city of the Redsox and Patriots, but to scare a city to boost your ratings is unexceptable.
i agree i really hate the city of boston now with there idiot thigns come on that didn't even look like a bomb for goodness sakes!!!
Man nobody has balls anymore they should've at least took it to court.
They shouldn't have to pay a dime. It is there fault for not getting the punchling afer seeing the remians of the blown-up ads.
this is ridiculous! terrorists don't put flashing lights on their bombs. whatever idiot reported it 2 the police should pay the $. & the police also should have realized that terrorists don't illuminate thier bombs. duh.
What do these things look like? Any photos?
OMG I hate boston. What was with the joke about Kerry? ATHF isn't a very good show but they shouldn't be punished for other people's stupidity.
A million bucks is a huge payout. I wonder who's getting it and why they would.
i live about three miles away from boston. Turner shouldn't pay. I have a really bad feeling that the $1 million isn't going to the city.
They shouldn't pay a thing. They look nothing like bombs. I'm glad the ATHFCMFfT is still coming out in Boston, I'm sure some people who knew they weren't bombs will be interested in what they are (if they haven't seen ATHF, of course).