Marketing Stunt Shuts Down City Of Boston
from the attention-grabber dept
Sometimes attempts at viral, word-of-mouth marketing can go too far. Turner Broadcasting thought it had come up with a slick way of promoting a show on Adult Swim by placing glowing signs featuring one of the show's characters all around the city of Boston. There was just one problem: with everyone so on edge these days about terrorism and suspicious objects, the signs drew out the bomb squads, and much of the city's infrastructure ground to a halt. Highways, commuter rail lines and the subway were all affected, as crews responded to worried phone calls throughout the city. The city's response is very similar to when some girls were arrested for playing a real-life version of the game Super Mario Brothers, which involved them placing boxes with question marks all around their neighborhood. While this latest stunt is bringing a lot of publicity to Turner Broadcasting, it's safe to say that this isn't what they hoped to see happen. The company will almost certainly face fines and other legal sanctions for tying up the city's anti-terrorism resources. Perhaps the marketing department at Turner Broadcasting needs to audit that college course on viral marketing.
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This is Ridiculous
This is absolutely ridiculous. "the police will continue to treat this as a crime scene". Waste of taxpayers money. Turner already admitted that they were their ads. All it was, was simply a circuit board and a series of lights. People called in claiming they were "pipe-bombs" and knowing all of this. the police STILL are investigating?
My god our government sure knows how to waste all that money.
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How did this happen?
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insane
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Re:
It's a growing trend. See http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070122/145926.shtml
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Re:
It's a growing trend. See http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070122/145926.shtml
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I blame Bush. :-P
Obviously some people still haven't recovered from his fear mongering.
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over reaction
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Did Anyone Attempt to Communicate
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America's Nazi State
American's have turned into complete whacko's, afraid of the sky falling, only showing just how well the terrorists won. They don't need to attack again, because America is still scared like hell that every and any one is a terrorist and out to get them.
Hey America... GET OVER IT ALREADY!!!
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Re: America's Nazi State
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Let's face it, in Boston, they are a bunch of mad people, and arguably the worst drivers on the planet.
Apparently, the entire town is not up to date on pop culture, as well, and the flashing lights would have made them even worse drivers, so of course, it's an act of terrorism.
Get a life, Boston. As your neighbors, co-workers, girlfriends, and bosses so elequently said to me when Iwas there last, "Go F*** yourself."
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Other cities didn't freak
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AMEN my fellow Seattlite
I, for one appreciated the valient attempt made to appeal to their core audience, which includes me. Boston, on the other hand, is full of crazy over-reacting Irish who just want a Guinness. If the sign was of a bottle of Guinness or Jameson, everything would have been okay.
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Turner Should Do Jail Time
Since 9/11 we've been told to be vigilant and yesteday, a citizen was doing just that. The bomb squad ALWAYS treats all calls like this as the real thing until it's absolutely certain a device presents no safety issue. Additionally, it's illegal to post anything on public infrastructure.
What hasn't been reported nationally is that phony pipe bombs WERE found in two locations. Local media is now reporting this. Until those are destroyed no one can assume anything.
Personally, I sat in traffic yesterday for nearly TWO hours thanks to some dickhead at TBS thinking how cool he was, promoting a jackass cartoon.
First responders all over the city were fully engaged in reacting to this stunt, not knowing until late in the day that's all it was.
Boston commuters - let's get a good class action lawyer and make these idiots pay. Then, I hope those responsible end up as dates for guys who wear state issue clothing behind tall concrete walls.
Turner sucks and we will NOT let this go away quietly.
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Re: Turner Should Do Jail Time
Sure, the REAL PIPE BOMBS that were found were fake, that is they were REAL PIPES & assembled to LOOK like bombs AND planted where they would FRIGHTEN people. But without explosives.
Your cops KNOW who planted them but guess what,?
THEY AREN'T FILING CHARGES AGAINST HIM.
However they WILL file charges against people that made them look stupid with an ad campaign.
I'll bet you cannot see ANYTHING wrong with this either...
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Re: Turner Should Do Jail Time
I am not a marketing expert. I do know, though, that marketing professionals calculate the impact a given campaign, such as a billboard, or Superbowl ad, will have. If any marketing experts want to weigh in with a good estimate as to how many people saw these devices I would appreciate it. In lieu of that, lets make a guess. These devices were placed in high traffic areas (they were ads after all) with the intent of being seen by as many people as possible. They were placed in ten cities, and they were up for nearly two weeks before a call was made to to the police. To make the math easy, lets just stay, ten devices were in ten cities for ten days. If 1,000 people saw each device each day, then 1 million people had seen one of these devices before someone called the police. That number sets a standard without needing to trust Mr. White-Lief’s opinion. That standard is one in a million. If one in a million American citizens think something looks like a bomb, than so we have to shut down a major American city over it? According the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services National Survey on Drug Use and Health, during the 2002 to 2005 period an estimated 1.4 million persons, or 0.6% of the population, over the age of twelve had used methamphetamines in the past year. That is six out of 1,000 people. If we stick to our one in a million standard, that means it’s time for the Department of Homeland Security to suit up and face the giant spider menace threatening the rural Midwest.
All Americans want to fight terrorism. Fighting something usually implies taking proactive action, and generally does not conjure thoughts of restraint. A winning NASCAR driver might credit is engine with a victory, but ask him if he’d run his next race without his breaks. If we set an unattainable level sensitivity, that will not only overtax our protectors, thus preventing them from responding to true threats, it will shut down our ability to function as a civilized nation.
Is this funny or is it overreaction? I’m sorry, but the better-safe-than-sorry manta is not Carte blanche. Was this funny? Yes, yes it is funny. The inconvenience, cost to the Bostonians, and threat of jail time, however, make it tragically funny. The tragedy stems from the overreaction of the Boston authorities.
--- Ollie
P.S. I have to give a recent “Onion” article credit for the “Giant Spider” idea.
(thanks “Onion” http://www.theonion.com/content/news/meth_addicts_demand_government)
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[/sensationalism]
seriously, i laughed for a while when i found out we closed down boston for the MOONINITES!!!! :D ... it still makes me laugh thinking about it. those moon bastards are finally planning their invasion.
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Re:
I hope they throw the book at them and lock them up for 10 years, dipshits.
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The solution
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Is it just me or
I'm just saying, this event in Boston is getting national coverage because of police/public stupidity. Free ads for Adult Swim.
Real jail time for distributing glorified flyers? Who needs a clue exactly?
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Boston Scare
Yes you may make fun of all this. But what would youy all say if these devices were real and actualy went off. Also the post about he pipe bomb was a seperate incident not related to this.
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Re: Boston Scare
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Re: Re: Boston Scare
"Apparently the rest of you thnik it is funny,Here are a few facts for you. One Boston was where the 911 planes took off. Second plastic explosives and C4 could easily have been planted in these so called funny ads. They have been engineered since vietnam that just a small amount is all that needs to be used.Cabable of destroying mid size structures or having extended blast areas. Also they can be made to look like any component on these ad devices. Yes you may make fun of all this. But what would youy all say if these devices were real and actualy went off. Also the post about he pipe bomb was a seperate incident not related to this "
Yes they could have been plastic explosives. But then again, so could any mailbox, traffic cone or potted plant.
You want to start some panic, start having explosive traffic cones.
There were not items made to look like bombs, they were electric signs.
I'm sure the police get several calls a day about suspicious packages, why did they freak out over these?
Why did it take the Bomb squad 12 hourse to figure out the first one wasn't a bomb?
Seems like the Govt screwed up on thias one.
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Re: Boston Scare (with better formatting)
You want to start some panic, start having explosive traffic cones.
There were not items made to look like bombs, they were electric signs.
I'm sure the police get several calls a day about suspicious packages, why did they freak out over these?
Why did it take the Bomb squad 12 hourse to figure out the first one wasn't a bomb?
Was the good bomb squad guy on vacation?
Seems like the Govt screwed up on thias one.
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Re: Boston Scare
I fail to see the logic behind this. Plastic explosives and C4 could easily by planted in a multitude of objects, most of which would be a whole lot less conspicuous than a glowing sign. Should be outlaw backpacks? What about water bottles?
Even a cursory inspection of the objects would have revealed that they are nothing more than a battery and lights. The faulty logic behind counter-terrorism in the US today is the same faulty logic behind the **AA and their tactics. You can't treat everyone like they're criminals. You can't assume every time you see something suspicious that it's a bomb. People have to think for themselves. Common sense has to enter the equation somewhere. Boston officials over-reacted, plain and simple.
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Re: Boston Scare
Sad thing is, that if any of the posters on here are over 18 and in college (or recent grads) maybe they ought to consider suing the school they attended for breach of contract. They and their parents actually thought they would get an education. Fooled them, eh?
As I write this, I am now hearing the five US soldiers that were killed by terrorists in SUVs now may be officers in the Iraqi army. Just proves my point - you can't trust anything you see until all the facts are in.
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I wanna know
I was watching adult swim last night and saw a bump apologising to the city of Boston. I was wondering if it was real.
I also like how they blurred out the finger on the LED panel.
And I'd have to say that if this happened here and Pittsburgh was shut down for this I would be really upset with the city for over reacting not adult swim for being creative.
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A great point was made today on WEEI...
And then I saw a picture of the device.
There is no text indicating WHAT is being advertised. All it was was a flat "light brite" looking circuit board with a blocky animated figure flipping you the bird. Underneath said board appeared wiring which tied to a string of batteries. Also of note from the picture I saw, it looked like the wiring was coming from behind the circuit board.
Now you can say "it's only advertising, no one reasonably could have looked at the thing and thought 'Hey, this could be mistaken for a bomb'"...but then Gerry Callihan, who I usually don't agree with, made the best point...
These devices were left all over various points of infastructure in the city. They were left there because that's where the show's demo would most likely notice them.
Why didn't they put any at the airport?
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Reading the headlines and listening to people confirmed something I suspected. People wanted them to be bombs. I don't know why exactly. Perhaps to justify their own fears; so they could say to themselves "see! I wasn't being paranoid, the world really is that dangerous." Perhaps it was xenophobia. "Now there is one more reason to hate *them*"
And of course, the media enjoyed it. It sells newspapers. Even long after it was clear what they were, news sites were still talking about "suspicious devices". the politicians and powers-that-be would be fools not to exploit it.
I've heard plenty of "you can't be too safe". Maybe. But perhaps we should do something about the more likely dangers. I am far more likely to be killed by a fellow driver on one of these roads than by a "suspicious device" placed underneath it. But it wouldn't be newsworthy. The statistics are calculated, the likelihood is known. Apart from my family and friends--and the other driver's insurance rates--no one would shed a tear. It isn't that people are callous, it is just that auto fatalities are routine. They are just a part of daily life.
If it is true that you can't be too safe, then I think we should start with the real dangers before worrying about the hypothetical ones. But that doesn't sell newspapers, get you elected, or justify your hate.
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I feel Less Safe
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Re: I feel Less Safe
You and the other shitheads that are making these comments would be the first to cry for your mamas if any of them actually went off and disrupted your stay at Starbucks.
Get off the couch, get a real job and wake the fuck up.
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Welll now...
Perhaps the marketing department at Turner Broadcasting needs to audit that college course on viral marketing.
From the publicity this drumming these guys may need to be teaching that college course.
Honestly I don't blame the city of Boston being scared for until it was proven they weren't bombs or whatever. I mean if I saw an LED advertising a show I didn't know about I'd be a little scared too. But now that the cat is out of the bag the city just needs to STFU.
I would go as far as to say that the creators of the show do a future episode making fun of the city of Boston but then Boston would sue for slander, lible, deformation, and just to be on the safe side copyright infringment.
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They Won!
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We need a clue
> called funny ads.
Ya because a flashing sign flipping the bird is the perfect stealthy place to hide a bomb. Sheesh.
We (the folks in Boston) completely over reacted to this. I think what's going on now is that we realize that, but rather than being big enough to admit it we're just getting pissed and pointing the finger everywhere else. If you want to go after these folks for posting signs in inappropiate areas, that's fine. The complete over reaction to this activity however falls squarely on the city.
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*sighs*
Get over yourselves, people. 911 was 5 years and some odd months ago. It's time to move on. Fight back and show the terrorists that we are NOT afraid. Good God some of you seriously need to wake the hell up. I got over it 6 months after 911. You all should get over it, too. If not, maybe you need to start seeing you shrink twice a week...
Boston totally overreacted to this. Stop trying to make excuses for what your stupid Government did and face the facts of the matter. And if you're too stupid to figure out that these signs were cartoon characters, than seriously, you should be going to jail. I think being far too ignorant should be a crime. Look at all the money that was wasted. And no, it's NOT Turner or the creators of ATHF's fault. It's YOUR fault for being so G*D damned STUPID.
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Re: *sighs*
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There are LED Bombs everywhere!
I don't know what Bostonians are all angry about. I was there a few months ago and the highway system was so jacked up from construction it took me an hour-and-a-half to get to the freeway onramp from the airport that was a mile away. Luckily my car rental was upgraded to a sporty vehicle instead of the economy one I reserved. The zippyness definitely helped make my movesin traffic. I have driven in L.A. and it is nothing like Bostons mess.
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WTFever
First of all, I am not a child. I do not participate in "4:20" and I am not a pot-head junkie. Not all people who watch Adult Swim cartoons are immature, pot smoking teenagers and college kids. I love how you right winged Bush supporting republicans make stereotypes about anything you are too ignorant to understand. I am 28 years old. I have a real job. I'm not "sitting on the couch" smoking a bowl. I am not a moron because I happen to have a sense of humor and enjoy watching shows like Family Guy and ATHF. You're just pissed because such shows make fun of republican assholes like you.
If I lived in Boston and I saw such a sign with "wires and batteries" I wouldn't have freaked out and cried " TERRORIST!!" like all you other idiots did. First of all, I would have recognized the character on the sign and would have known it was advertising. A LITE-BRITE sign with LEDs does not say "danger" to me.
Lighten the fuck up. As I said, 911 was 5 years ago. Stop letting the terrorists win. GET OVER IT. Have a sense of humor -- pull that stick out of your tight ass and put the blame where it belongs. Just admit that your beloved Government fucked up, once again.
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Overzealous Government
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Other cities, they just threw them away. Now Menino wants to throw the book at the marketing company? Does he think that will make them look less like idiots?
I'm not saying posting these things was a very bright (hah!) idea, it wasn't. But the city's resposne was far more idiotic.
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Thank you, Matt
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In plain sight.
Hmm.. interesting...
I hope you don't all assume that these terrorists you all mention are isolated from the current trends. What is to stop someone from doing exactly what Boston feared? The simple fact is that the smart thing for Turner to do would be to contact the city and let them know the location and shape of every device. Then when a call comes in, they check the list and move on.
An overreaction on Boston's part? Only because they weren't bombs. If they were, Boston would be the only city with brains.
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Re: In plain sight.
Now looking on the other side of things and say I was worried that it was a bomb, I still would be really pissed at how they handled it. In the reports it said quite clearly that they didn't know what it was so they blew it up. OK, but what if it was a biological weapon? did anyone think of that before spreading its contents all over the street? A VARY big overreaction
the point is that ether way you look at it, it was a cluster. Adult Swim should have gotten permits to place those around the cities, someone should have reacted sooner (I think a real bomb would have gone off within the two weeks they were there.) The person who did react should have realised what they were to begin with (Probably wanted to get a reward) and the bomb squad should have figured out what they were dealing with before they blew it up.
But maybe I'm wrong. Coming from an electronic background I can tell a breadboard and batteries when I see them. just looking at the picture I can tell that there isn't enough room to place an explosive. I can think of a good way to make it dangerous but it would involve the bomb squad blowing it up for me.
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In a time of heightened awareness, when there are real people who tell us they want to kill us, fear is a rational reaction. The emotion of fear is the result of millions of years of evolution, and is one of the reasons we survived as a species.
I'm glad to see the fine ERTs of Boston responded so quickly and with authority. Too bad for those other cities, though. Apparently, no one in those cities noticed anything unusual.
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Lessons in current pop culture
Who's replacing the parent-kid conversations these days? To clarify, I mean, does anyone in Boston take an active role in the kids lives? To clarify, the Person who called the cops didn't understand the pop culture icon, and it was escalated all the way to the SWAT/Bomb Squad teams, and mayor.
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i think there is some blame on both sides. yes the marketing campain was kinda stupid. in today's scared world, we are never too careful. i don't blame boston for responding with the bomb squad. however, i think 12 hours is way to long to figure out it's just a sign. i can understand between 2 and 4 hours, but half a day? idk about that.
but it's funny coz i see all kinds of stuff that could be bombs. gas tanks, neon signs other LED light displays.
yes, most IEDs would'nt be so bladent (from my understanding) they would be in a box next to a garbage can or dump. a backpack at a library, something not too out of the ordinary. but whatever
and yes, i think the ad company has some expalining to do. they should have contacted the boston gov't and say, hey look at these. they're ads. just so you know.
but we live in a scared snowball world.
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The fact is, on the scale of all things that could possibly be a bomb-- lost backpack, dunkin donuts box, left behind ups box, pile of newpapers, or even a plain trashcan--- these objects were pretty low on the list.
Could a terrorist disguise a bomb with cartoon character? I suppose. Are they likely to? Probably not. In the end, the obvious marketing use of the object spoke pretty clearly to it not being a bomb. Finally, the overall volume of the object (basically a flat placard with a batttery pack at the bottom) meant it certainly couldn't be a very large bomb. For this, they shut down a city.
I stand by my statements. The city overreacted, and the people who made those decisions are idots. And now, Menino and others want to find someone to blame for it.
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i think alot of items have wires and batteries. telephones. other electric signs. heck, i've seen light posts whtere the bottom wire plate was open and the light wiring was pulled out. that's not right.
but let's look at it this way. what can we LEARN from this event? a) do your own marketing b) have people who know pop culture c) GET BOSTON A BETTER TERRORIST RESPONSE PLAN d) MAKE SURE YOUR AD CAMPAIGNS CAN'T BE CONFUSED FOR TERRORISM...
i just can't wait to hear the court case against the 2 guys.
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Um, no.
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In Boston
Everyone jokes about road crews that set up and do nothing for years - but i swear, it's a reality here. This whole state and economy are a big scam.
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Re: In Boston
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Post no bills
Personally, I don't think anyone should be allowed to place advertisements. newpaper machines, vote for me signs, yard sale signes, house for sale or anything else like that on public property. Period. As far as I'm concerned, it's litter and fair game for anyone to swipe or throw away.
For some, that's too far, but at the least they should be required to register with officials and have a way for people to contact the parties responsible for the materials. Including to charge for cleanup costs if the item is found where it is not allowed.
I'm tired of seeing "Lose Weight", "We buy houses" plastered over telephone and light posts. I hate seeing "Vote for Me" signs weeks after the election (though if it's on your private property, you can do what the hell you want of course).
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Re: Post no bills
Can you though? Maybe I'll post a billboard in the front yard in my suburban neighborhood and get someone to pay me to advertise for their private enterprise. How fast do you think the local government would make me remove this?
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Bah
The Boston Government deserves to eat every penny of that expense for their stupidity alone.
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Wow
Yes, what the marketing company did was stupid (and someone's suggestion that they should've had Adult Swim stickers on the Lite-Brite looking devices is right on the money) but the reaction to these things was waaaay over the top. Instead of finding someone who may have known what the hell those things were, they just assumed that terrorists with a strange sense of humor was trying to blow up Boston. If that had been the case, wouldn't their terrorist alert system had warned them of this ahead of time? Seems to me that all of the homeland security systems would've heard something about this to give them a reason to suspect that these were bombs. Makes me wonder how the offices of homeland security are supposed to work.
What's interesting is that a young man was interviewed in a CNN article and he said that he had noticed the one on the college campus area weeks ago and was surprised to see them taking it down. And I've also read that there may have been calls to tip the authorities off which makes me think it was possibly the marketing firm that made the calls (which would be really, really stupid). It's also interesting that these installations were in other cities across the country, but only Boston went to the great expense to think they were bombs instead of an image of an 8-bit alien giving the finger. But since I don't have all the facts, I'm just going to keep reading the Adult Swim forums to see how this will shake out in the end.
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Re: Wow
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Guess what, when it becomes widely known that the marketing firm called emergency services to get more "buzz" there really will be hell to pay.
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Re:
BUT
"The first device was found... just before 10 a.m." "received four calls, all at about 1 p.m."
People saw the device being investigated and then blown up and reported the others that looked like the one on the news.
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bomb placement
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Mooninites
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4G-D0F4Q9yk
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Congratulations America!
It only took 62 years for us to become total fools. In Pakistan somewhere, Bin Laden is laughing his ass off.
I feel sick.....
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http://www.bunniestudios.com/wordpress/?p=153
They should freakin plaster the city with "This is not a bomb" stickers...
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AHHHH!
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