All the authorities in Boston should be utterly embarrassed that they’re so stupid as to think these are bombs. What am I saying…of course they’re embarrassed, that’s why they’re lashing out so harshly, already making arrests and being pissed off to the media. Ridiculous. The Mooninites are indeed…superior to humans.

We seem to have a theme here…

1. Bringing celebrities back from the dead to sell a product
2. Disgusting posters promoting an award show
3. Bomb threats to promote a tv show

We should be very proud. Perhaps designers should embrace a new slogan:

“There is no such thing as bad publicity, or bad design.”

On another note, if anyone is offended by Nate dropping the “F” bomb on us or his focus on the breasts of a bikini model, please voice your opinion. We aren’t necessarily a “family” blog, but hopefully we are at least work safe. Let me know if you think this crosses the line and I will be sure to slap Nate’s hand.

Apparently, LED lights depicting a fictitious television character flipping the bird is displeasing.

http://www.fantent.com/2007/01/31/aqua-teen-hunger-force-media-alters-photos/

More censorship to come!

Done.

http://raplica.com/store/shirts/Adlt_Swim/mooninite

And just why is that Billdo? - Because it doesn’t look like your typical bomb? - Plastics connected to Electronic devices left in prominent places without consent is not suspicious? No one ever places messages mocking ‘the enemy’ on bombs?

It is guerilla marketing at best, but that doesn’t make its methods any good. Corporations paying marketeers to break the law and cause public panics cannot be an acceptable situation.

Screaming loudly at the top of your voice might attract a lot of attention, but its makes you look like an idiot.

But by using a guerilla marketing firm that do not use legitimate marketing avenues they lose control of the context in which the message is placed.

You can have all the good intent in the world, but if your actions are perceived as a danger or threat to others, what are you supposed to do as an authority, or moral person? Tell people how dumb they are for not being cool, ignore the danger, or warn others?

Guerilla marketing by its own definition seeks this confrontation by challenging what are and are not legitimate marketing avenues. Placing electronic devices in public areas without authority or perceived legitimacy is bound to cause trouble, whether lawfully, or emotionally and morally with the public.

How can this stunt be seen as a responsible action?

That is, in fact, a problem. I hope Turner steps up to the plate on this one, and doesn’t sell out two designers who’ll get 5 years in prison because the authorities mistook advertising for a threat.

-Cut from Boston.com,

Supporters rally outside court for men charged with hoax By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

About a dozen artists and other supporters rallied outside Charlestown Municipal Court this morning in defense of the two men charged with placing battery-powered cartoon characters throughout the city that touched off fears of bombs and terrorism.

Most of the supporters held computer printouts fashioned in the same design as the guerrilla adverting campaign that sparked the panic. The signs included Wednesday’s date — 1-31-07 — and had the words “Never Forget” beneath one of the characters from the Cartoon Network television show.

Sage, 35, one of the supporters who described herself as an artist but declined to give her last name, said that Turner Broadcasting Systems, the parent company behind the marketing blitz, is the real culprit.

Turner “didn’t think this advertisement through,” Sage said, standing outside court. “The people who are suffering, they are innocent, they are innocent people.”

Police last night arrested Peter Berdovsky, 27. The artist, originally from Belarus, told the Globe earlier in the day that he installed the signs for an ad firm hired by Turner Broadcasting. He faces up to five years in prison on charges of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct.

His lawyer and friend, Michael L. Rich, said he hoped in court today to get Berdovsky’s bail reduced and “end this craziness.”

A second man, Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Stevens was also charged with placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct.

Both suspects are scheduled to be arraigned today.

So, I find it interesting that someone is using the handle “Billdo.” I have never seen anyone else use that, and friends of mine have called me that for the last 20 years. BADG and BetADG are getting more and more strange lately.

Back on the subject, if they do try to prosecute these guys, I am hereby pledging $100 for their defense fund. Someone needs to set up a collection on the part of designers against stupidity and fear.

I was up late last night when I checked BADG and found this post, which gave me the inner desire to turn the background noise t.v. to the cartoon network and watch some adult swim. I don’t watch it frequently, but in the past, during the intro and outro of commercial breaks they would have just text of real or “real” people’s letters, and a response. They were usually stupid questions or comments that would be followed up by a sarcastic comment. Last night, instead, they put up the apology letter. Putting it in the same context as other, funny, letters made the whole thing seem even more ridiculous, like adult swim was making fun of it’s own apology. In short, great marketing, bad design, I’m probably going to watch adult swim again tonight.

If this ill-conceived ploy had not caused alarm, disrupted traffic and cost the city of Boston upwards of a million dollars, it would have simply gone down in history as another blight on our culture.

Am I the only one who finds it offensive that someone would plaster a city with images of a cartoon character gesturing with its middle finger? And then to see these smarmy ad hacks make a mockery of a press conference by insisting on discussing hairstyles of the Seventies. I for one am disgusted.

To my colleagues in the business of communication design: Please, grow up. Think about the repercussions of your ad messages — viral and otherwise. Don’t just ask, “Is it legal?”of “Is it dangerous?” Ask, “Will it edify or will it debase?”

And to those enfantile enough to think that Boston officials overreacted: Have you already forgotten about 9/11? The terroists who flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania began their mission just minutes away from where these attention-seeking devices were planted.

Perhaps a major metropolitan city being shut down by suspected terror will cause some in our industry to take notice of the more insidious effects of your base and offensive advertising messages.

Try this radical thought: Be accountable.

I hope the nitwits behind this bad-idea-turned-public-nuisance are held accountable.

Sorry to double-post, but I couldn’t help but make this after my last comment..

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/47875026/

fox news is a bunch of f-ing idiots looking to scare people for no god damm good reason

I’m afraid your censoring your own name, afraid. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion, but of course you’ve really set yourself up by immediately saying that it is disgusting and totally wrong to do so…

The problem with your argument is that context IS controlled in legitimate advertising. The message a poster has in a billboard may be misconstrued and even cause public shock and alarm. But it is still within the context of a billboard, and this limits what ever the interpretations might be to end with - its an advert, in a billboard - and that belongs to a private entity, who is publicly accountable.

From the reports I have been hearing recently, the authorities did actually find one or more pipe bomb like objects that day. So the threat of bombs being left around the city was very real indeed. (Even if they later turned out to be fake). Talk about losing control of context - suspect packages placed around the city, when a very real bomb threat is also occurring? -That’s your problem right there. (Gawr, police r like sooo dum).

If you examine your own arguments, it is actually you who is being morally superior. Designers (who are above the law of everyone else right?) have a right to commercialise public spaces, and if people aren’t cool enough to understand the (oh so) clever ‘artistic’ work then its their problem? What I find disgusting is private individuals profiteering from the commercialisation of public spaces - without license, without consent, and with no accountability or concern to others.

These are real people who have to, walk up to these “Marketing Devises” pray to God they are’nt bombs, take them apart and keep everyone else from being hurt in the event, some smart ass punk, does plant a bomb in some electronic light bright. Stanger, and more sinister things have happend. I love you arm chair generals, who think you’d have the balls to walk up to something that suspicious with wires hanging out of it, and just rip it off the wall.

EvanHunter, trying to control people through fear is a cheep and disgusting game. But open your mind, do you think it’s just some right wing bozos trying this. What about this Global Warming crap. I think it’s you without the brains my friend. And by the way, what IS a bomb supposed to look like?

I hope the guy who did it, is made to serve with the bomb squad for one call. Make him walk up to a suspicious cardboard box and open it. I bet he’d S*@t his pants.

On the initial handling, I believe the Boston police did exactly what they were expected and trained to do. They knew only there was a device mounted in a public place and they did not know what it was or who put it there. So they handled it that way. Sure they could have searched technorati first or called the closest high school for consultation; but I don’t think thier first suspicion was ‘it’s may be a marketing gimmick’.

That being said I think they are over-charging the two people arrested. I can see fines, but in the end a bomb scare was not part of the plan. I suspect the police are going overboard to save face and send a message.

Still I hardly see the people involved in the stunt as just fun-loving victims. At the end of the day they went into several cities to post electronic devices, without permission, in public and private places, without compensation to the owners of the property, of a light up image of a character giving the finger, for a cartoon that will be forgotten one year after it goes off the air. (Don’t believe it? Beavis and Butt Head anyone?)

They didn’t mean any harm. But let’s not kid ourselves; they didn’t mean any good either. It wasn’t smart. Or clever. Or responsible. Maybe it just looks that way because it’s not our dime and not our problem.

There is a slippery slope on both sides of the molehill. On one, yes - we can’t charge people with whatever we want in the name of security. On the other side, if sneaking around putting up Moonites giving the finger is acceptable and clever, how long until writing out f you on the same sign is ok too? On your property? And then what?

“There are going to be a lot of people who don’t get this, but for the people who do, it is incredible.”

I get it and it’s as brilliant as the hundreds of pieces of spam I get everyday, except the litter remains on the street instead of just being a complete waste of my time.

And what was the ultimate message? Fuck You Boston. Fuck You New York. Fuck You America. Fuck You Los Angeles. And Fuck You. Fuck You And You And YOU. Fuck You. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck… Fuck No We’re Not Selling Viagra. We’re selling FUCKING CARTOONS! Watch This!

Brilliant.

PWNED’s first appearance.

Andy got pwned! Dang!

I think my coworker said it best when he said “I had never even heard of Aqua Teen whatever, and now I have seen them on youtube and I know they have a movie coming out. Whatever it was, it worked.” (paraphrased)

Folks, this was publicly displayed art part of a marketing campaign that could have been executed better. In the words of my associate, Lewis Green:

“This campaign could have worked, if the marketers had taken people into consideration. Guerilla marketing of this sort impacts everyone it touches, not just fans, which made the entire city of Boston unwilling participants.

Those of us marketers who believe that it is always about people, not the products or services, would have created a people-first campaign. Here’s one way this campaign could have been launched, without shutting down a city, costing Boston $500,000:

1. Get a permit.
2. Get traditional and alternative media involved by announcing that sometime between abc date and xyz date, these light boards would be placed around the city.
3. Get a radio station to be part of the campaign.
4. And then offer a substantial prize for everyone who find one of the circuit boards and return it to the radio station to be briefly interviewed and given their prize.
5. Make the campaign fun, get it noticed and make it interactive for anyone who wants to play.”

This campaign was unsuccessful. In a city of 600,000 how many lost pay for that day? How many were in dire need of medical attention, but were inconvenienced by the event?

Mario’s suggestions are not merely hindsight. They are the kind of things that professional marketing firms should consider when planning a client campaign. These people were being paid to think ahead, to envision the results of their efforts, to plan for best results.

Marketing, even so-called viral marketing, is more than running around town posting perplexing messages, video taping your nocturnal fun and games and posting it on YouTube with a cool soundtrack. That’s why they call it “work.”

“from a pure “buzz” standpoint, I’d say mission accomplished.”

Like the “buzz” from the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” fiasco was a boost to her slumping career and was worth the PR damage it caused everyone involved?

I bet George Bush still has that “Mission Accomplished” banner that flew on the aircraft carrier he landed on. And I bet he’d be more than happy for Cartoon Network or Turner Broadcasting take it, put it on their headquarters and take credit for the statement. But something tells me that since their staff and legal teams are now looking at hundreds of hours of depositions, legal fees, fines and PR spin to clean up this mess they’ve created, they aren’t exactly seeing it as “mission accomplished.” Just like the Janet Jackson stunt, I don’t think anyone involved in this ATHF PR event is going to want to be a part of anything like it again once the dust settles.

“Is it a little more “corporate” than either of their work? Yeah, absolutely.”

And that is the key problem with this stunt. If it were for a political statement, like Greenpeace has been doing for decades, it would have been brilliant. But as a guerilla commercial for a cartoon, it just ranks as a tactically good, but a strategically dumb idea.

“If anyone should be appologizing its the city officials how could they not have the brains to know these werent bombs.”

So the next terror attack is going to use labeled devices and it’ll be obvious about what they are? They’ll have labels that say “DIVERSIONARY DEVICE #2C,” “BOMB #3R.” For those that still don’t get it, Boston didn’t overreact. These devices turned out to be excellent tactical diversions, and they were placed at key strategic locations. Only in the event of a real terror attack, the devices will be more visually innocuous, probably something like Maybelline lipstick ads. The other cities that ignored these devices need a wake up call.

Blue Streak said:

‘So the next terror attack is going to use labeled devices and it’ll be obvious about what they are? They’ll have labels that say “DIVERSIONARY DEVICE #2C,” “BOMB #3R.” For those that still don’t get it, Boston didn’t overreact.’

Right, except for the fact that they found them two weeks later. If it was a real bomb, everyone would be dead. The point was for the things to be discovered. For them to be stolen. For it to be on the news. The police were just doing their jobs, but a Mayors duty is to calm the people and not incite panic over an advertisement. What a joke.

I watch Adult Swim from time to time and def. enjoy the cartoon and while I do agree that Boston has overreacted with their response to the campaign, it would also be a disservice to the city and our public if they had simple just looked the other way.

The campaign has done it’s trick…lot’s of exposure for the event… But as a similar, yet less spectacular, gorilla campaign (think 2002 and butterflies) plastered stickers all over the place… they were fined…

Truly… it was not not much in the scheme of things, but a lesson to those who would follow in the footsteps of poorly thought out concepts put into action.