I'm getting pretty goddamn sick of these bullshit "guerrilla marketing" stunts.

[Redstone]

First, IBM spray-paints stuff all over the sidewalks in NYC (vandalism, which costs them big to clean up).

Then, Microsoft does the SAME THING in in San Francisco (more vandalism, with the same result).

Then, a bicycle store in my area decides to practice "guerrilla marketing" by plastering my town with illegal signs all over the streets. After I remove the illegal signs, they replace them with ones coated with petroleum grease to "punish" me for removing them...polluting the groundwater with hydrocarbons when it rained.

Now, we get idiots putting ELECTRONIC DEVICES in public places, with no explanations. And they wonder why people freak out.

I guess they'll never learn.

Redstone

[aquart]

1. I call it terrorism and I want them to do time.

[MethuenProgressive]

5. "Do time"?? Because idiots flipped out and paniced?

No resonable person looking at the cartoon figure on the sign would EVER think it was anything else.

[flashlighter]

54. Hey. People here were scared

not because they saw a cartoon, because there was something electronic strapped to bridges and left by a hospital.

It may be funny now, but it WAS NOT FUNNY sitting in a major building in downtown Boston this afternoon.

[Redstone]

61. I'll bet it wasn't funny AT ALL, at that time and place. Thanks for the perspective.

Good to hear from someone at the source.

Redstone

[MethuenProgressive]

123. Scared by the OVER REACTION, not by the little lite-brite toy?

I truly understand the complete over-reaction by the news media and cops must have been scary - but it wasn't the fault of the little battery powered lite-brite signs, it was due to the absolute freak-out by supposedly inteligent people who are paid to know what the hell they're doing.

[KoKo]

149. "Interference Marketing" should have it's Marketing Manger do Jail Time

for creating a stunt which cost City of Boston maybe a Mil and for creating a "fake terrorist" incident at a time of "WAR."

[Redstone]

158. Yup. I'll bet that none of the people who dismiss this were THERE. Let's say you're

a bomb-squad cop in a big city. You see ANY KIND of electronic device UNDER A BRIDGE.

Do you just laugh and walk away because it's got cartoonish lights on it?

When a dozen other such devices are found around the city, do you tell people "Ah, don't worry about it, it's just an advertisement?

I doubt it.

Redstone

[redqueen]

155. Well said. n/t

[Leopolds Ghost]

129. I saw something electronic strapped to a white stand on the side of the hospital.

Someone help -- I saw a bomb on the inside window of my pizza shop!
I think the owner, a Lebanese guy, put it there!

It had a black box taped to the window (ready to blow) with wires and
tubes sticking out from it.

And the sign flashed out a warning, in words that it was forming.

And the sign said THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS ARE WRITTEN ON THE SUBWAY WALLS! PAN SPECIAL $15.99.

I think it had one of those LED things, too.

[ima_sinnic]

183. LOL! I at least appreciate it ...

:eyes:

[redqueen]

153. Why did take weeks to become scared?

Why was it only people in Boston who were so easily scared by lite brites with cartoon characters on them?

[Hoping4Change]

154. The only idiots were the ones who concocted this idiocy.

The idiots who okayed this should be jailed and the company should have to cover ALL costs incurred.

[Virginia Dare]

172. No time, just money...

they need to reimburse all local governments and the federal government for every single penny that was spent responding to this stupid stunt.

[MethuenProgressive]

2. A lite-brite cartoon character flips off Boston!

What MORONS the Boston police are!

[slampoet]

203. Boston Police are WILlFULLY ignorant about youth culture

Does anyone recall the Riot that the Boston Police started at the Green Day concert about 10 years ago?

The organizers DIRECTLY asked the police if the police were trained as to what Slam Dancing/ Moshing was.

The police answered in the affirmative.



As soon as the mosh pit started, the police threw in tear gas cannisters and started trampling concert goers with horses. People nearly died, because a police chief couldn't admit he didn't know the answer to a question.

The Boston Police culture has been very defensive against ANY outside experts for DECADES. Even to the point of hindering Federal investigations. This is why they overreacted to a prank that didn't cause any ripples in Seattle, Philly and other areas.


Oh, and ATHF is in the last of their 15 seconds. They are now the least cool of all the Adult Swim programs.

[Bombtrack]

3. And people who watch Adult Swim are, lets say, "unfortunate" enough

[danalytical]

8. Yeah OOOO K!

You enjoy the View and I'll stick to Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

[Edweird]

23. What's wrong with Adult Swim?

[NoSheep]

31. I so need more information. Did Adult Swim prank-market Boston?

[Edweird]

51. Apparently so

From what I understand it was a some kind lite-brite or electronic kinda thing that they hung around the city. They hung some under bridges and that seems to been the worst move.

[MADem]

78. Apparently, these things are in Atlanta and New York, too and have been for weeks

Someone freaked out when they noticed it, and no one on the Boston Police or any of the responding units recognized the icon....

[Occulus]

116. Huh.

"...no one on the Boston Police or any of the responding units recognized the icon...."

Does or does that not say something all by itself? Adult Swim is, at least among cable viewers, fairly well-known, in my experience...

[MADem]

121. Well, maybe they need to get some Northeastern Criminal Justice students on some of their units

during their work-study semesters....

Hey, I'm uh, middle-aged (I keep telling myself) and the ONLY reason I know what those things are is because the teenagers in our extended family enjoy the show, and those of us in the 'adult' sphere make it a habit to know what the little baaastids are up to...keeps us young, and makes it harder for the young farts to put stuff over on us. Plus, I am retired now, and I like staying up late and watching tee vee....why? Because now, I CAN! :evilgrin:

But I can see where ordinary working folk might be clueless. There's whole decades of culture that I've missed out on, working fifteen hour days, seven days a week!

[Skip Intro]

96. oh, come on now

nothing wrong with edgy (matter of opinion, I know) animation...

deathklok, deathklok, deathklok, deathklok

[Dastard Stepchild]

102. "thanks"

[JVS]

160. Hey, I am NOT a chronic masturbator living in my mother's basement!

I work hard for my shitty 1 BR apartment!

[Name removed]

186. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TimeChaser]

190. Thanks for the insult :D

I'll tell all my friends you think they're "unfortunate"


:eyes:

[mduffy31]

241. Okay

Well eat me...

[REP]

4. I'm Sure They'll Make A Note of That

Oh wait - they have. You see, they don't care if you like it or not; they just care if you notice it or not.

Incidentally, the clean-up costs of the NYC and and SF stunts pale in comparison to the average media buy. But you knew that. Right?

[Redstone]

19. And I know that neither of them has done it again.

Redstone

[REP]

130. Let Me Know When One Of Your Campaigns Pulls That Much Free Media Coverage

Until then, I think I smell sour grapes.

[Redstone]

192. I wouldn't DO a campaign like that. I have ethics.

Redstone

[brentspeak]

208. Sour grapes?

???

[MADem]

81. It's likely lawsuit time if they pull that shit again. Or maybe the municipalities have increased

the upward side of the fine for the offense. The punk advertising his rave pays a hundred bucks, Microsoft pays a hundred thousand.....

[REP]

131. Damn Cheap

Media buys comparable to the coverage those stunts got is a lot more than a hundred thousand. The Turner stunt backfired a bit - but a lot more people know about ATHF this evening than did this morning ...

[pdrichards114]

I'm just plain fucking fed up with marketing in general

I read the other day we see like 3000 ads for products on a daily basis. This has to fuck up our individual and collective psyche. I hate all marketers. If they had any honor at all they would commit Hari-Kari while admitting all their numerous transgresions.

[Redstone]

18. So am I, and I'm actually IN that business. But not consumer stuff, (B2B only),

so I don't have to get involved with tawdry crap like this.

Redstone

[tridim]

6. If this had happened in the 90's nobody would have "freaked out"

People freak out today because BushCo scares the public with faux-terra on a daily basis.

[tabasco]

132. Exactly right. I hope we can ratchet down the paranoia level someday.

Maybe if we get a rational government one day.

[Quantess]

134. Absolutely! But this isn't the carefree 1980s anymore.

People are paranoid. They should have known people would freak out, and that their actions would get them in legal trouble.

[redqueen]

156. No one in the other cities freaked out.

And it took them weeks to even notice them.

[Quantess]

176. People in other cities probably didn't notice them.

All it takes is for one cautious person to see it, get suspicious, and call the authorities. The reaction in Boston could have happened in any of the other cities.

Why didn't Turner Broadcasting get a permit? Maybe Turner could notify the cities?

[redqueen]

177. Cautious?

Would terrorists really plant obivious looking bombs in plain sight?

And sure, I can see a citizen thinking so... but trained professionals?

They just handled this extremely poorly. They need to answer for why they alerted the media as well, before they even knew what they were dealing with.

[Quantess]

184. Who handled it extremely poorly?

Turner Broadcasting handled it poorly.

CNN, which is corporately related to Turner Broadcasting, participated in the media hype.

The city of Boston was obligated to not take a bomb scare lightly.

[redqueen]

185. So you think CNN and Turner colluded to hype this threat?

I see where that could be possible...

I was thinking it was the authorities in Boston who either officially notified the media or leaked something.

If it was CNN / Turner, they should pay.

[Quantess]

188. I don't know, but

According to what I heard on the news, nobody at Turner Broadcasting contacted any city official of Boston for several hours after the big brouhaha. How many hours does one need to say "sorry, it's a joke"?

[redqueen]

189. Yeah... *sigh*

How I wish we could trust "the news".

I guess we'll have to wait a while before we have any idea how it happened.

[Warren DeMontague]

199. After seeing what the things actually looked like, no, I don't think they shouldve "known".

The previous poster is right. The media and this administration has whipped people into a paranoid frenzy.

Meanwhile, they foist truly dangerous crap off on us every day.

[mopinko]

181. really. let's put the blame where it belongs.

if there is anybody out there that doesn't get it yet, maybe it is about time.
the war on terror is a lie. a great big expensive lie. don't be suckers. put the blame where it belongs.

[mongo]

226. ..

:applause: :woohoo: :applause:

I can't believe that some DU'ers are taking this seriously at all.

[leeroysphitz]

7. Kind of like Nike paying kids to beat and rob other kids of their

Nike shoes, jackets etc... For guerrilla marketing just to create a "buzz" and air of extreme desirability around the brand name.

Not to say Nike ever really did such a thing, it's just a hypothetical example.

We know Nike is very kind to children.

[KittyWampus]

146. Like Music Corporations pay "rap stars" to shoot each other and get arrested

to help create an air of danger.

[Beaverhausen]

9. This is really a problem for you?

:nopity:

[Redstone]

17. Yes, it IS a fucking problem for me. And a big one. I like the town I live in, and I'm proud

that it's an attractive little town. So when some dirtbag comes in and litters my town with his ugly, illegal signs, yes, I do take it personally.

This is my town, mine and all the other people who live here. It's not a free billboard for a fucking sign spammer.

You don't like it? Don't put illegal signs in my town, and I won't care if you like it or not.

Redstone

[NoSheep]

25. Can you clear something up for me? Was the incident in Boston a prank

(plenty bad...adults should know better) or marketing (extremely bad...adults should know better)? I just haven't read anything that has helped to explain to me the origin of these events today. I know they made people afraid and some people here are trying to defend pranks (I don't mind a prank, but this is going too far and directed at average citizens) I absolutely despise any kind of advertising so if it was marketing...woah.

Anyway. I was hoping you could explain to me what happened. I just don't want to go into all these opinions by posting a thread about it. I follow what you write here on DU so I trust you'll give me the truth and not just a bunch of noise. Thanks Redstone.

NoSheep

[Redstone]

27. Well, combine the two. It was "marketing by prank," essentially. That's what the morons

try to do these days..."create buzz."

Like the liquor companies who hire "leaners:" People who "lean into" conversations at nightclubs to tell others how great a particular brand of vodka is...

Another sleazy, lazy, stupid excuse for "marketing."

Hey, I really do appreciate the compliment, and hope my reply answered your question. In either case, as you said, adults should know better.

Redstone

[NoSheep]

29. Marketing what? I mean has it been shown there is a specific company

who did this? Or was it just an "activist" marketing a political opinion or pulling a stunt to draw attention to an issue. I guess that's what I'm confused about. Thanks. Either way, of course, it's wrong.

[Redstone]

33. No activism, just commercialism. The Cartoon Network pimping one of their shows.

No, this wasn't people putting stickers that say THE WAR underneath the STOP on stop signs.

Redstone

[NoSheep]

36. OMG. It WAS just a marketing thing. They must be pretty out of it to think

this was a good idea. Damn.

[Redstone]

39. Like I said, they're drinking the Kool-Aid of "Viral Marketing," which is just another name

for lazy marketing. I'm in that business, so it kind of offends me when people do dipshit stuff like this.

Redstone

[NoSheep]

44. I think they're SMOKING Kool-Aid m'self.

All day long I thought it was just some kids pranking and someone should scare the living hell out of THEM just to teach them a lesson. Then spray paint all their favorite possessions. Hell, these days, you could get shot doing something that even reminds someone there may be terrorists about.

[Redstone]

48. Like I said:

We don't have to like, nor do we have to agree with, the situation as it is.

But it is as it is, isn't it?

Redstone

[Leopolds Ghost]

137. "You could get shot..." Yeah! Absolutely! Do that! These aren't the carefree 80's!

Shoot the terrorists! Clinton and Bush said vandalism is classifiable as domestic terrorism! (no shit, because of "times have changed, protect THE CHILDREN" atttitudes)

If you guys are so concerned about terrorism, maybe you should have seen something like 9/11 coming, as many who remembered the WTC attack did, given that Osama Bin Laden and the Blind Shekh were quoted IN THE MEDIA as to their intentions to crash planes into buildings, attack the WTC again, and even the GW Bridge. And our leaders either didn't believe them, felt they weren't capable, or sat back and "let's see what happens -- an attack on such a liberal city might wake people up there to the threats we face."

And we know what the next thing the extremists on both sides are waiting for, as an excuse to launch their planned clash of civilizations. They are what you might call "best enemies". So SZTOP trying to curtail our freedoms, and START doing something to prevent the war in Iran which Bush and his "best enemies" have suckered us into!

[NoSheep]

161. "You guys"? I hope your comments are directed at the so-called government.

I'm personally not concerned at all about terrorism except that perpetrated by my so called "fellow Americans" running the show up there in DC.

This was marketing dude. Not political protest or dissent. Doesn't have anything to do with anyone's rights. It was bad judgment considering the mindset many are in.

On the other hand, I could be totally misreading your point, and if so, my apologies. It's hard to tell if you're yelling at us or the beasts in the government who've ruined our country and a good part of the rest of the world.

:shrug:

[redqueen]

162. Bravo. n/t

[Leopolds Ghost]

136. I KNEW IT! A "marketing professional". No Wonder you can afford to live in the clean, safe

part of Boston! (Of which there are many now that rent control has ended and "new residents" demand services, such as SWAT teams converging on unattended backpacks or unattended minority youths, services that were denied to the former residents)

Most urban and rural residents don't have time for worrying about this
SHIT, but there is a disturbing trend towards the upper middle class
demanding the sterility of the suburbs in their condo-ized communities.

[Redstone]

142. I don't live in Boston. So you can stick your jealousy, well, wherever it might fit.

Redstone

[NoSheep]

169. Wow. That was kinda un-called-for.

You have a lot of energy for debate and that is very good. We need people like you, but it seems a bit misplaced. Find your issue and yell like hell but you seem to be missing the point and trying to apply your agenda to this issue and it reads like a round peg in a square hole. It's starting to sound like you're spouting nonsequiters. (did I spell that right?)

[Tesha]

148. They probably assumed that the people who saw these things...

They probably assumed that the people who saw these things
would have a modicum of intelligence and common sense.

In Paranoid Delusional America Bushworld in 20007,
that was a BAD assumption.

Tesha

[redqueen]

163. In the other nine cities, that's exactly what happened.

Seems at least in Boston, the terrorists have won.

[Gormy Cuss]

42. I call it toxic marketing.

Believe me, I've known some marketing types who would have thrown mama from the train as long as it heightened buzz about the product.

I'd bet my bottom dollar that at least one person on the team raised the possibility of the exact reaction in Boston and the team thought it was worth the risk, just to create the buzz.

[Redstone]

46. I wouldn't take that bet in a hundred years. I absolutely KNOW you're right.

Assholes that they are, they just didn't care.

Redstone

[JVS]

165. I wish I could be a leaner for Cisco or Night Train

That would be awesome.

[flashlighter]

56. Right ON!!

said that better than I could have!!

:yourock: :yourock:

[Redstone]

58. Go to www.causs.org, then, if you want to make a difference. You'll find that you're

not the only one who cares about keeping your town clean.

Redstone

[Leopolds Ghost]

139. I care about keeping public spaces public. The city of Boston is an example of disturbing trends

Towards extreme gentrification and Zurich-ification.

Take a course in Urban Design and Redevelopment sometime,
and get back to me when you understand what cities are for...

[Redstone]

143. Boy, you're an obsessive one, aren't you?

Redstone

[Redstone]

193. Wrong-O, buddy. Public spaces belong to EVERYONE as a group, and to NOBODY individually.

That's the definition.

Redstone

[Leopolds Ghost]

135. Perspective: Your attractive little town that abolished all rent control

And took steps, like every other US city, to criminalize the homeless sleeping UNDER those bridges... Never mind that a homeless guy would be the first to report a real live terrorist stirring up shit under a bridge... better to fence it off with roads and berms and fences and call it "attractive" and inaccessible to all law-abiding citizens... because, y'know, privatizing and militarizing the public realm will keep the terrorists at bay.

Humanist paradox: You and Will Pitt are still able to afford to live in Boston, therefore you should adjust accordingly for your own perspective on issues of public safety and lack thereof in "less desireable" communities... And yes, the terrorists are more likely to attack Boston than South Central, or Peoria... Peoria's not wealthy enough to be a target.

[Redstone]

144. Perspective: Envy is unattractive. So is frothing at the mouth. So is obsession.

So other people make more money than you do? Perpective: Get used to the idea, because it's not going away.

I'm not jealous of people who make more money than I do. Perspective: You can stop wasting your time lecturing me.

Or not.

Redstone

[KittyWampus]

147. you have a serious problem if you think TURNER has a right to litter public spaces

with their garbage ads.

But you just go right ahead and champion a corporations right to foist anything they like on the public. Anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

Because corporations are people, right?

[redqueen]

157. Do you get this riled about flyers stapled to light poles?

Jesus christ...

[Redstone]

191. Yes, if they're ADVERTISEMENTS. Remember all those "Work From Home" signs you used

to see everywhere? THEY sure were attractive, weren't they?

You don't see them anymore, because some of us care enough about our communities the we put enough pressure on Herbalife to make them stop.

Redstone

[Scout]

244. they are ugly and become litter eventually n/t

[MethuenProgressive]

10. I've never heard of "Adult Swim" but it still didn't look dangerous

Little lights in the shape of a cartoon guy flipping the bird - oh yeah, that's SCARY!
:sarcasm:

[MADem]

13. I'm old, and I have heard of them--I watch it--I especially enjoy the old

FUTURAMA and FAMILY GUY episodes. The Aqua Teen is less amusing, and the Japanese anime is soporific....

[Redstone]

22. Those three airplanes didn't look too scary up until the last minute either, did they?

Redstone

[bicentennial_baby]

32. Oh, come on, man!!!!

:eyes:

That was just too much dramatizing for me, sorry...

Signed,

living in Boston :D

[Redstone]

35. We'll disagree on this one. It was just stupid, lazy "marketers" giving marketing

a bad name. We don't have to like, nor do we have to agree with, the situation as it is.

But it is as it is, isn't it?

You just don't go around leaving anything in public places that people don't understand.

Not anymore. You just don't.

Redstone

[bicentennial_baby]

64. No, I understand that....

But, what I can't wrap my head around is you comparing these things with 9/11....I think it's crass and uncalled for, in the extreme...

[Redstone]

70. I'm not comparing anything, kiddo. I'm talking about REALITY. And about the way

people FEEL in this country.

If that's crass, so be it. Read my prior reply again, please.

Or don't.

Redstone

[bicentennial_baby]

74. I'll read it, BUT

don't *EVER* call me kiddo again, ok? Not cool...I'm 30 f'n years old, and I'm no child. it's rude and belittling, my friend...

[Redstone]

77. Well, it's a term of affection when I say it. Or it was, anyway. I guess not anymore.

I'll strike "sweetheart" and "peach" in your case as well, in order to not cause further offense.

Redstone

[bicentennial_baby]

91. No, it's just that one...

It bugs me...Sorry...But the others are fine :)

Don't get your hackles up b/c of me, sweetie :pals:

:)

[Redstone]

94. Something's broken here.

See you later.

Redstone

[MADem]

86. Apparently, it wasn't JUST the Mooninites--it was Shakes, Frylocks, and Meatwads too!!!

A real mini WAR OF THE WORLDS scenario!!! Only Cartoon Network is Orson Welles...

Supposedly they've arrested someone. At least that is what KO said this evening..

[mongo]

228. Welcome to your brave new world

You just don't go around leaving anything in public places that people don't understand.

Not anymore. You just don't.


I can understand your argument against littering, illegal handbills, illegal signs, all that.

But you've drank the kook-aid and bought the package that Bushco is selling.

The terrorists have won.

[kiahzero]

47. So you want people calling DHS when they see airplanes?

TERRA TERRA TERRA!

[Redstone]

49. Don't be ridiculous. That's not what I said, and you know it. And, by the way, yes,

if someone sees an airplane flying toward a building, a phone call might be in order.

Redstone

[kiahzero]

60. What were you saying, then? (n/t)

[Redstone]

62. I'm saying that things have changed. Is that easy enough for you to understand?

Redstone

[kiahzero]

65. "9/11 changed everything."

Maybe for some people, anyway.

[Redstone]

67. Well, it did. For an awful lot of people. Get used to the idea.

Not because bushyboy said it, but because it's true.

You can argue the point as much as you want, but you can't change the truth.

Redstone

[kiahzero]

68. I can point out the ridiculousness of it. (n/t)

[Redstone]

73. Be my guest. It still won't change the truth.

Redstone

[kiahzero]

79. All I can hope is to show people how silly they're being

For all the rhetoric about "not letting the terrorists win," the country seems pretty effectively terrorized.

[redqueen]

166. oh for God's sake! n/t

[Moochy]

223. That is some damn fine fearmongering

Kudos! :hi:

[MADem]

11. Here's my questions--I don't know the answer to any of them.

Did Turner negotiate with the City of Boston or any other agency to install those items? Who did the installation of these items? Was any notification of Highway Department/Maintenance personnel ever offered? They've been there for two weeks, at least--why are people getting so excited NOW? And why isn't there a single soul in the BPD who can look at that thing and say "Oh, that's the Mooninite from Aqua Teen!!!" Hell, what insomniac hasn't seen that goofy program?

I would hope that IBM, Microsoft, and those bicycle bastards are sued for clean-up costs AND legal fees and court costs times seven. I find that shit reprehensible. If they pay FIRST, and pay well, and do their own clean-up, well, that's one thing. But when corporations get in the habit of slapping up handbills like young kids with their coffeehouses and raves or whatnot, that's just being cheap assholes. Shame on them.

[Ian David]

15. Even if it was recognized as a Moononite, who's to say it wasn't an EXPLODING Moononite?

Some crazed MIT student could have decided he wanted to terrorize Boston with exploding Moononite bombs.

Do you think we would have caught him before we saw the smoking gun in the shape of a giant, exploding Doctor Zoidberg?

[MADem]

66. The Moonite knowledge would have given them a STARTING point

in any event. You call Turner, and ASK "Say, are these yours? Are there any more?" After the FIRST one was clearly a "Lite Brite" device, and not a bomb, and the second, well...anyone who knew what it was would put two and two together.

Jesus, this is how well we know, or don't know, the curious little twists and turns of our own culture. Heaven help us in trying to decipher the obscure references of fringe terra groups.

As for Zoidberg, if anyone doesn't know who he is, they just haven't LIVED!!!

[Redstone]

45. There's a common-law term going back HUNDREDS of years, called

"Trespass to Chattels." It's what would seem to be a really obvious idea; it basically means "You can't use someone else's property without their permission."

The sidewalks belong to the city. The sides of the roads belong to the state. The utility poles belong to the electric company. You can't use someone else's property without their permission, no matter HOW MUCH you feel that you're entitled to free advertising!

Jesus, is that concept SO complicated?

Redstone

[MADem]

69. Jeez, don't get mad at me--I didn't do it! I don't endorse it!

That's why I'm an advocate of payment to municipalities for this sort of thing....And if someone PAID for the privlege first, there wouldn't be any trespass in the mix in that case. They'd pay for permission to rent the area, and then pay to have it cleaned up....that's my point.

[Redstone]

71. Hang on a second, here. I was NOT getting mad at you. Just explaining.

Redstone

[951-Riverside]

12. Someone should carve some ads into the Cartoon Network execs tires n/t

:eyes:

[kestrel91316]

14. All's fair in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Betcha these stunts are

all compliments of Harvard MBAs who happen to be Republicans, too........

[Redstone]

21. If it was still the 1980s, they'd all be wearing yellow ties for certain.

Redstone

[smalll]

38. Yeah, but it's the 2000s - they're probly not even wearing ties anymore -

probably go to work in jeans and designer sneakers, maybe tootle around their workspace on segways, probably a few shaved heads and goatees, probably even a tattoo or two on a few of them - so its all cool, don't you see? As long as a capitalist LOOKS like he's not one, it's all good.
:sarcasm:

[Redstone]

50. What you said. The song does indeed stay the same.

Redstone

[Lethe]

16. and keep them whippersnappers offa my lawn too!

man you are grumpy!

the ATHF thing was cool...people way overreacted.

[Redstone]

20. Well, maybe you LIKE having your town plastered with illegal signs. But I have some

civic pride in the appearance of my community. If you don't, fine. Go ahead and allow your town to look like a junkyard. I don't care.

Redstone

[MADem]

75. It's TURNER, not some underground punks, fachrissake. No one has a problem with the ADS

The ads themselves are hysterical.

It's the fact that the BPD and MEMA and MHS -- all of the law enforcement and response entitites-- DIDN'T know they were there. Unfortuately, they had no one who was sufficiently sleep-deprived to be able to identify the icons.

And they would have known had Cartoon Channel/Turner PAID to put those things up, signed a contract with the city, not shoved them here, there and everywhere without paying for the space.

This is big business, and they're trying to get advertising for a film on the cheap. If it turns out that Turner has not paid for the privlege of displaying those things on city, state and federal property, they're gonna pay through the nose. How nice of them to fund an emergency exercise for the City of Boston....and then some.

I say, if anyone sees one, grab it. It might be worth something on EBAY, and if they didn't pay to put it up, well, finders keepers....

[Redstone]

90. Damn, and I mean DAMN well-said. Excellent post.

Redstone

[ArmchairMeme]

24. Boston

In Boston the news folks are suggesting that there should be charges placed on Turner Broadcasting for this promotion. These cartoons, found to be potential terra packages, were too scary to the Boston Police. They blew them up and it looks like they want Turner to pay for it. These were cartoons and had been in place across the city for two weeks and nobody found any reason to mention them. Perhaps if they didn't blow them up they would have found the connection to Turner on the first cartoon and found more quickly that they were not bombs. The police only see bombs they can't see a cartoon as a marketing tool but, any teenager could have told them what was happening.

[MADem]

100. So, Armchair, how would you like it if someone put some shit on your lawn that caused a big ruckus?

And they didn't ask your permission, and they didn't tell you did it, and they sure didn't pay you for the use of your lawn? And it made all your neighbors crazy, and disrupted your neighborhood and got everyone frightened and upset? Wouldn't you be annoyed??

Boston has a right to get pissed off. If Turner had signed a contract with the city to put these goofy things here, there and everywhere, then the city could tell the police that they're no big deal.

I think the icons themselves are a hoot. I am no teenager, but I watch TV with them, and I did recognize the icons. The sneaky/unauthorized method of putting them up, plus the fact that they were just strung together with batteries (no CARTOON CHANNEL icon on the back of them, or a "If you have any questions about this device, please call 1-800-CAR-TOON" or something like that on the back of the thing) and looked home-made, in this BushCo Terra Climate, was just stupid. How tough is it to pay the city, notify the appropriate authorities, and avoid these problems?

Of course, they did get a day's worth of media advertising for their film, courtesy of CNN, MSNBC, Faux, and the nightly news networks.

[Redstone]

111. Whoa, yes. You just said it MUCH better than I did in my OP. Thanks.

Redstone

[Marrah_G]

182. So explain this to me

Cops get call about suspicious package taped to the beams below the bridge on Interstate 93, our main highway.

Cops have to get a cherry picker just to reach it.

Cops see a device taped to the bridge with wires and batteries and some badly done doodle in led lights.

Cops should then find one of their officers who has a teenager who stays up late, that officer should then pull his kid out of class so he can send apicture over to see if maybe the kid might recognize the doodle.

If the kid doesn't then he should then fins the nearest high school and go room to room to ask if anyone knows it.

In the mean time the things are still taped to the side of a very busy structures and to make sure the public is safe they have to close things down until they are sure.

In conclusion: The Boston PD did just what we pay them for. We like our city, if you happen to think our cops are morons then please feel free not to live here.

[Redstone]

196. Whoa, YES! That's the spirit! Spoken like a true New Englander, which is high praise

when it comes from me.

Funny how NONE of the people who criticize the Boston police have, themselves, jobs which require them to keep the public safe.

PS: My grandfather was a Boston cop, and it drove him to drink himself to death. It's not an easy job.

Redstone

[Marrah_G]

200. No it's not an easy job

My uncle was a a Boston City Fireman. My family adopted family has lived in Boston since immigrating from Ireland 3 generations ago (Dorchester and W.Roxbury). My birth family still lives in Plymouth/Kingston where they have been from the very first days. I love New England, heart and soul and it pains me to see it being so trashed on a progressive site.

[Redstone]

212. I guess it's "progressive" to insult people like the Boston cops, not to mention

to insult people who raise an issue.

(My mother's family is Boston Irish as well, and I grew up in Vermont. We New Englanders have to stick together, yes?)

Redstone

[Marrah_G]

221. absolutely!

I wouldn't ever want to live anywhere else.

[Initech]

26. Don't forget billboards on wheels.

There will be a special place in the deepest depths of hell for whoever came up with that concept.

[Redstone]

28. Oh, THOSE spawns of Satan. "Hey, let's create a TRAFFIC HAZARD, and use it to advertise!"

Yes, those people have a special corner reserved for them indeed.

Redstone

[Initech]

52. Yeah, exactly. I'm trying to concentrate on the road, not look at advertising!

If I wanted to do that, I'd subscribe to cable.

[Crabby Appleton]

30. FYI - here is what they look like lit up

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35408719@N00/

when they're not lit up, they are very suspicious looking.

I'm with the OP on this one, tired of it.

[NoSheep]

34. I get a photo of a ceiling when I click that. Is that what I'm supposed to see?

[Redstone]

37. Didn't work for me, either. but it doesn't matter. See post # 35 above.

Redstone

[Crabby Appleton]

41. No, crap, they got deleted

[Hosnon]

40. I believe that mass advertising (like the MS butterflies all over NYC) is largely illegal. nt.

[Redstone]

53. It's ABSOLUTELY illegal. Everywhere. See #45 above.

Redstone

[Hosnon]

97. Thanks...however, I shy away from words like "absolutely" especially when

dealing with the Common Law. You never know which jurisdictions have tinkered...

[etherealtruth]

43. Their actions were irresponsible at best

Very dangerous at worst.

OK CN/Adult Swim you've created a "buzz" ... I hope there are significant legal repercussions

[Redstone]

55. Absolutely. I hope they sleep well tonight, because they're going to have some

damn long sleepless nights soon, if there's any justice.

Redstone

[The Straight Story]

57. I'm with you on this one buddy

Lacks creativity - there were more legal and sensible ways to advertise, they took the junior high way - and it caused a lot of people problems.

I don't find it funny that people were sitting in their cars in traffic jams, fucking up our atmosphere that much more, while just wanting to get home and do their thing.

In THIS day and age how could any IDIOT not know that we are wary of bombings (and um, they did find some last week from a guy that was making threats to blow up things) and that we would take precautions with such devices?

They made a lot of people miserable - not a good selling point for your product IMHO.

[Redstone]

59. And most amazingly of all, someone got PAID to say "Hey, that's a great idea!"

Redstone

[Zynx]

63. Remember the MI: III ticking bombs? Yeah, great idea there.

[Redstone]

72. I don't remember that one. Got a link or two? I'm curious.

Redstone

[matcom]

76. these FUCKERS deserve JAIL

i don't live in the city but let me tell you people, THIS is serious shit. This is totally FUCKED UP.

MILLIONS of people and THOUSANDS of 'First Responders' had their lives endangered today. This is FUCKING CRAZY!!!!!!

[Redstone]

80. Maybe they'll listen to you. I got some arguments.

Redstone

[matcom]

84. i can't IMAGINE the arguments against

i'm nobody. they won't listen to me. this is fucked up BEYOND belief

[Redstone]

85. Just read through this thread, and others. Apparently, I'm an old fart who just

doesn't GET "marketing in the 21st Century," even though I make my living doing just that.

Redstone

[LoZoccolo]

87. You should pioneer "angry marketing". n/t

[Redstone]

89. Done that.

It worked.

Redstone

[kiahzero]

83. They should go to jail because people are paranoid?

I doubt they'll even be able to maintain a civil action, let alone a criminal trial.

Don't let me get in the way of the witch hunt, though. I wonder if Turner Broadcasting weighs the same as a duck?

[MADem]

88. "They" should pay the city to hang shit on city property.

That way, the cops would be able to learn from the city that "they" put those things up, and that the icons are not anything to worry about. Then "they" wouldn't be in this fix.

I think the city will have no problem maintaining a civil action, and collecting damages. LOTS of damages, maybe even enough to fund another emergency drill.

[Redstone]

92. The voice of sanity speaks again. And, boy, do I appreciate it.

Thanks for jumping in.

Redstone

[Midlodemocrat]

178. People are paranoid because they've been told to be paranoid.

The shithead in chief and his minions have convinced people that certain death from Islamic extremists is right around the corner, so of course people are scared.

My own company, housed for over 50 years in the Empire State Building, had to relocate because the support staff was so freaked out after 9/11. Some of the employees saw the planes going in, both times, so of course they were frightened. Every time a fire alarm went off and they got the all clear, people kept saying 'they got the all clear in the first tower also'.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans aren't as wordly or educated as most on this website, so of course they're scared.

They've been instructed to be scared.

[MethuenProgressive]

124. Oh puh-leeeeeze....

The "fuckers" that deserve anything are the supposedly responsible people who saw little cartoon men made out of a lite-brite toy and decided to start a city-wide panic. The bomb-squad guys are professionals - don't you really think after they saw the very first one of these things they'd call off the freak show and restore calm? The people at the TOP, including the Mayor, should be ashamed of themselves - they've made Boston a laughing stock over a silly toy sign.

[Midlodemocrat]

179. I totally disagree and I'm with matcom and Redstone on this.

People have been instructed to be paranoid by the shithead in chief. How else should people react?

I, myself, am not familiar with Adult Swim, and I'm pretty well educated. I'm not sure I wouldn't have reacted the same way.

[LoZoccolo]

82. There should be a guerilla marketing campaign for tranquilizers. n/t

[Redstone]

93. Well, if you think I need tranquilizers because I take pride in my community,

go ahead and do so. Some of us feel like we're part of a community and like to keep our towns clean. Sorry if that bothers you.

Redstone

[JacksonWest]

95. It's "amazing" that there was such complicity between the media and the government to sensationalize

this. Come on...these were lite brites. Not IED's. Viral marketing may be annoying-but it shouldn't shut down an entire city. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. And Mooninites.

[PreacherCasey]

98. "Consumers" respond to them/think they're "cool". That's the sad thing, IMO.

Creatively BANKRUPT.

[MADem]

104. I know, this isn't some underground outfit--it's a big business, run by fatcats making a bundle

It's "fake"--all of that slapped together, on-th-cheap, home made quality. This is corporate marketing, likely dreamed up by a bunch of Bush voting suits who are too cheap to pay the city to put up their mini-billboards.

[PreacherCasey]

108. Wait until all of the bullshit superbowl commercials come out!

:hurts:

[MADem]

117. Uh, the companies PAY for those...these guys didn't pay. That's the diff.

Good time to hit the crapper, those commercials...

[PreacherCasey]

120. I know that. I'm talking about huge companies exploiting the desires

of individuals looking for 15 minutes of fame by designing their ads for them.

I'm referring to the "create our company's superbowl ad" gimmick. I'm sure you've heard about it. A few companies are doing it this year. It is being presented as something fresh and innovative and people just suck it right up. The $$$ aspect bugs me too, but not as much as the further cheapening of our culture.

[MADem]

Remember the truck ads from last year? The make your own campaign?

We had a blast with that....they gave you B roll film on the internet, with music you could pick, and you got to write the ad copy....everyone went after topics like the war, BushCo, the environment, waste, big pig rigs...they were hysterical. I think it was Chevy that came up with it.

[Nikki Stone1]

99. Advertising at the cost of the taxpayer. Socialized marketing, anyone?

:evilgrin:

[Redstone]

114. Yes, you get it, don't you? I can see that you do. Thank you.

Redstone

[Nikki Stone1]

118. Hey, Redstone. I've enjoyed a lot of your threads even if I don't post on them

Your take on the topic is mine in this case.

[asthmaticeog]

101. You should beat them up.

Those Adult Swim motherfuckers totally got it coming.

[Nikki Stone1]

103. Ah, always nice to see maturity.

....

[asthmaticeog]

105. Wow, that's a pretty huge sar-chasm you're sportin'.

That's the name we give to the wide gulf between an ironic remark and the person who doesn't get ironic remarks.

[Nikki Stone1]

119. Thanks for proving my point.

Have a nice day. And buy an energy conserving 5-year light bulb. It's good for the environment and for everyone. :)

[redqueen]

167. sar-chasm :)

love it !

[MADem]

109. No, the city should beat up Turner. This has nothing to do with "Adult Swim" or

"Williams Street"--this is about the MOVIE, the big biz distribution for the MOVIE. This isn't a little home made project, this is a multi-city media marketing campaign that was professionally conceived and executed, and done on the cheap because the market for the film is clearly a niche market.

You've been conned, there, asthma...this isn't the "little guy" against the Big Mean City.

This is a giant corporation wiping its greedy ass on the Cradle of Liberty, and costing the taxpaying public a good deal of money for their stupid little 'stunt.' If they'd paid the city and told them where they wanted to put them up, this would be a non-story.

They arrested a guy who looks like Frylock here in the city tonight in connection with this matter--wonder if TURNER will bail him out???

[asthmaticeog]

113. "wiping its greedy ass on the Cradle of Liberty"

GOD, I love GD! :rofl:

Edited to add: this went on in 9 other cities, including Philadelphia, which itself has a strong claim to the title "Cradle of Liberty" How come none of the other cities got an outbreak of the howling fantods over a fucking viral marketing campaign?

[Leopolds Ghost]

138. I'm amused you & Redstone using common law to attack the right to post bills in the public domain

Streets and sidewalks are the public RIGHT OF WAY, they are COMMON PROPERTY, not like highways that are owned by the State. Area under bridges is common property -- the Burnside skatepark in Portland is a prime example. If they had done that ENTIRELY illegally instead of paid the city's bribe to MAKE it legal, your ridiculous indignation would not apply.

The truth is, certain folks who can obviously afford to live in the wealthy ghetto of Boston, obviously want CULTURAL CONTROL... they are Pasadena-style Liberals whose goal is "a clean and safe community where the undesirables are not allowed to make us feel less safe".

You can't prohibit the big guy from posting bills without a permit and not the little guy. When permits are applied, only the big guy benefits... ask your local taxi union or SBA how regulations are applied in THIS country, in the REAL universe, as opposed to the Mooninite universe where more regulation benefits street artists (so long as they aren't "underground punks" you disapprove of) at the expense of the fat cats (except for the multimillion-dollar sign-makers in Times Square, where entire buildings derive 100% of their income from advertising, and ugly corporate logos on the sides of buildings overlooking all our nations highways and byways, which you guys obviously don't object to, or you would be calling for the prosecution of the sign makers except -- oh wait!! they filled out Form #104678 correctly and got their $1000 annual permit!! That's OK then.)

[Redstone]

145. You're looking a bit green, there. Envy is SO unattractive.

Redstone

[redqueen]

168. Envy?

:rofl:

[asthmaticeog]

175. I think what our friend redstone is trying to suggest

is that Leopold's Ghost wouldn't have made the single sanest post in this thread unless he were poor, and therefore actively jealous of wealthy people who can subvert the notion of the commons to suit their PTA-prig level of comfort.

[Redstone]

206. No, HE said he was jealous. Not me.

Redstone

[Redstone]

205. Read his posts. They're dripping with it: "Ooh, you people make enough $$ to live

in the NICE part of town..."

Redstone

[KittyWampus]

222. They weren't "posting bills". And they weren't putting that crap on walls.

[Little Wing]

122. BWAHHAHA!!!

:rofl:

[Richardo]

140. ...for 'squidbillies' alone

Let's not even get in to the rest of their 'original' content. Man most of that shit just reeks.

[Beelzebud]

106. I'm getting sick of stupid Americans being afraid of their own shadows.

TERROR IN EVERY SIDEWALK CRACK, IN EVERY TREE LEAF!

:D

[MADem]

110. I'm getting sick of corporations thinking they can play and not pay, actually.

I find that equally offensive, if not more so.

[Nikki Stone1]

125. I'm with you on that one. Socialized marketing and corporate welfare are sick

in an age when 25% of US children live in poverty.

[Dastard Stepchild]

107. Hmmmm.... I'm conflicted...

Not when corporations do this in the form of advertising. But I've seen some really great street art from local artists that I have really enjoyed. Always puts a smile on my face as I am walking around the neighborhoods. It IS technically vandalism, though, and it really bothers some people.

It's hypocritical to give a pass to the artists and not to the marketers, but I seem to do so. I can appreciate why it would upset people, though.

[PreacherCasey]

112. There's a difference between an individual's creative expression and

some corporation trying to play off of that as if they are "hip" to it. :puke:

Also, if artists are caught vandalizing, they get punished.

I would say, screw the corporations and enjoy the art!

[tridim]

150. The majority of Adult Swim programming IS art IMO

Andy Warhol also ran a corporation that produced art.

[MADem]

115. The street artist who draws on the sidewalk is NOT making money.

That's the difference, right there. And the ones who paint the peeling side of a blighted building actually improve it. And the ones who use chalk, well, that washes away.

This business was in aid of the MOVIE coming out....it was advertising on the cheap. They hired a 28 year old starving artist who looked like Frylock to put them around...they've found 28 of them so far...

Ten other cities have them....Portland, Seattle, Austin, San Fran, NY, Philly and several others, for starters.

[Telly Savalas]

126. I read an article about the Lite Brite bombs in the Guardian

and it was interesting that instead of using that obnoxious term "guerilla marketing" they called it a "publicity stunt", the term used for this sort of bullshit in the days before pathetic hipsters got advertising jobs and coined the new phrase to rationalize their idiocy.

We should quit massaging their egos by calling them "guerilla marketers" and instead refer to them as "publicity stunt assholes".

[PreacherCasey]

127. !

"pathetic hipsters got advertising jobs and coined the new phrase to rationalize their idiocy" :thumbsup:

"guerilla marketers" my ass...

next we'll be reading about "insurrectionist accountants"

Screw that.

[ShortnFiery]

128. "I read an article about the Lite Brite bombs in the Guardian"

As if we don't have other pressing issues, such as the lunacy of our Unitary Executive, the Brits are laughing their asses off and all of Europe will soon know that we're afraid of cartoon lite-brite characters. Now they are worried about the populace's paranoia and wondering when we are going to start turning our neighbors over to TIPs and that long train ride to the internment camps.

Wow! Instead of the city officials taking a moment to "take note" of the outline of the light brites and check with various sources, they instead went bat shit crazy and called in the Feds. :eyes: To add insult to injury, instead of Executives of Turner Broadcasting taking the hit, they arrested some starving artist student that was hired to place these items. Yes, blame the person who is LOWEST on the financial food chain. :(

I'm beginning to think that the rest of the world community is beginning to wonder about OUR (fraidy cat incompetent officials and lynch mob mentality sycophants) mental health as well as that of our Dear Leader. :scared:

Still, what a wonderful news day to be an American! :sarcasm:

Land of the FREAKED, Home of the AFRAID.

[redqueen]

170. C'mon now... the nine other cities didn't freak out like a buncha pant wetters.

The terraists may have won in Boston, but not all of America! (Not yet, anyway.)

[Hardrada]

133. It looks like capitalists and TERRAists are in a race to get us!

In any case, were DOOOOOOOOOOMED!!

(I haven't seen that here on DU for awhile so thought it apt to this situation).

[MirrorAshes]

141. this is absurd

people put up wierd shit all over the place all the time. jesus h christ.

these things were in several cities and nobody caused a fuss. they were even in boston for quite a while before all of a sudden the terror alert went out and everybody went nuts.

this is not the fault of the ATHF people. its the fault of the city and the media for making an epic mountain out of a light up bird-flipping pixelated alien molehill.

[quiet.american]

151. We are so inoculated with fear. Damn Bush. n/t

[redqueen]

152. Hardly anyone freaked out. And it took weeks to notice.

I dunno...

[porphyrian]

159. They've got you working for them.

You're still promoting campaigns they've already finished with this thread.

[Redstone]

204. I'm talking about a concept here, not promoting any specific assholes.

Redstone

[porphyrian]

218. You mentioned at least three specific samples by name in your OP.

Every time someone posts to this thread, it goes to the "top" of GD. How many eyes do you think hit those brand names? There is no bad advertising but no advertising.

[Redstone]

219. So, let's ascribe some ulterior motive to my discussion of an issue, shall we?

I don't work for either of those companies, nor do I own stock in either of them.

Next strawman, please?

Redstone

[porphyrian]

220. Your inability to understand what I'm saying doesn't make it a strawman.

I really don't care if you can see what you're doing, I just pointed it out.

[Redstone]

225. If you don't care, why post?

Redstone

[porphyrian]

229. You have no idea what I'm saying, do you? - n/t

[Redstone]

231. Well, you SAID you don't care. I understood that. So why do you bother?

Redstone

[porphyrian]

233. No, I said I don't care if you understand or not. Right now, I'm just responding to you.

Anything else you'd like to not understand?

[Redstone]

234. Again, if you don't care, why argue the point? You're beating a

dead horse with a broken stick, here. You say you don't care about my opinions, but you'll argue them to death.

Why, may I ask?

Redstone

[porphyrian]

235. Why bother to answer you? You didn't listen when I told you that already.

I said, right now, I'm just replying to you. I don't expect you'll retain that information, however.

[Redstone]

236. No, I won't retain that information. I'll just ask again, if you don't care, why do you

keep posting?

I don't suppose I'll get any more of an answer this time than I have in earlier requests for an answer to that question; based on history, I should expect just another personal attack instead of any debate on an actual issue.

But that's life, isn't it?

Redstone

[porphyrian]

237. Now you're just acting silly.

Anything else?

[Redstone]

238. Nope. Just silly old me, here, trying to discuss an issue and getting

personal attacks in response.

Just silly old me. What, did I expect that people would actually DISCUSS an ISSUE, rather than calling me names?

I really MUST be just acting silly.

Redstone

[porphyrian]

242. Aw, poor baby.

I guess you don't control what other people say and think.

[Moochy]

245. Cue the tiny violins for Redstone

:rofl:

[devilgrrl]

164. Your feigned outrage is tiresome

[Redstone]

197. If you don't like my posts, you have the option of not reading them.

Redstone

[devilgrrl]

202. I'm amused that you felt the need to PM with that info

Your posts are so banal it is impossible not to look... kind of like trying not to look at a train wreck.

[Redstone]

207. Well, then don't read them. You have that choice. Do I go into your threads

and deliver personal insults? No.

Do you come into my threads and deliver personal insults? Yes.

How nice of you.

Redstone

[The Count]

171. I dunno. Love Adult Swim, and this last one was Max Headroomish...here's the story

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2007/02/01/aqua_teen_hunge.php

[wildflowergardener]

173. Calls

I thought the news during the bomb scare, was that there were calls made - like people called in bomb threats or something.

Does anyone remember hearing something like that.

The police should have been notified that they were placing these objects where they were.

Meg

[goodhue]

174. not me

I think they rock.

[The Stranger]

180. Honestly, I am really trying to find ONE issue on which we can agree, but every time you post, I

find it to be so disagreeable that I am compelled to reply to it. And, here again, the "war on terror" that spans from the White House to the corporate-controlled media, to the defense industry has stirred the U.S. into hysteria, and every aspect of everday life, and it turns a prank into a national incident.

But we must put the blame where it belongs. And that is with the lying, torturing, war-mongering, fundamentalist junta that controls the government.

[Redstone]

194. Well, if you dislike my posts so much, you do have the option of not reading them.

Redstone

[The Stranger]

201. That's true. But I feel the obligation to post, especially when I feel it is the Progressive

position that I am posting.

[Redstone]

209. Then be my guest, if you think my posts are so bad, but you want to read them anyway.

Not a problem.

Redstone

[transeo]

187. What is up in Boston?

They did it in Seattle too and no one here freaked out. Even the police thought it was funny. What is the deal?

Cartoon Network publicity stunt sparks panic in Boston -- but not here
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/302011_devices01.html

[Gormy Cuss]

211. It could just as easily have happened in another city.

Boston's the place where it happened this time. Next time it may be Chicago or Atlanta or someplace else.

Why Boston specifically over Seattle? One explanation may be that for better or worse there is still more anxiety about terrorist attacks in the Northeast cities with links to 9/11. The two planes that slammed into the WTC originated in Boston. I would hazard a guess that more people in the Boston area knew someone who died on that day, or knew someone one degree of separation from it, than out here. For instance, my niece had a classmate lose a father, two of my colleagues were scheduled to attend meetings in the WTC that day, one colleague lost a dear friend, one former colleague lost two family members. Those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head and I'm excluding the dozen or so colleagues who flew out of the same airports that morning because they weren't at much direct risk, even though it was rather creepy. Five years isn't long enough to lose that sense of alarm for those who felt it personally.

[Redstone]

213. How well-said. Thank you for pitching in, in defense of New England.

Though I'd have expected no less from you.

See, now you've gone and gotten me spoiled. You make so many excellent posts, I expect ALL of them to be so.

But this one really was.

Redstone

[Redstone]

195. Three quick and simple points for those who don't get it:

1) Advertising is not constitutionally-protected free speech.

2) Public spaces belong to everyone as a group, and to nobody individually.

3) Anything that's not a public space belongs to someone, and nobody has the right to use someone else's property without their permission.

Like I said, pretty simple.

Redstone

[Moochy]

227. #1 in the Hood G!

My name is...
Shake-Zula.
The mic-rula,
The old schoolah,
Ya wanna trip? I'll bring it to ya.
Frylock and I'm on top, Rock you like a cop
Meatwad you up next with your knock-knock.
Meatwad make the money, see.
Meatwad get the honeys, G.
Drivin in my car, livin' like a star.
Ice on my fingers and my toes and I'm a Taurus

Check it.
Check it, check it.

'Cuz we are the aqua teens,
make the homies say ho! and the girlies wanna scream
'Cuz we are the aqua teens,
make the homies say ho! and the girlies wanna scream

Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Number 1 in the Hood, G
Schooly D

[Nikki Stone1]

230. 4) Get a permit

Pay the public for the use of their space if you are a commercial enterprise.

[Redstone]

232. Yes, indeed. A good addition.

Redstone

[Nikki Stone1]

243. Would have prevented the whole mess

NT

[Marie26]

198. Me too

I'm even more annoyed that people are taken in by them. Just cause something's illegal doesn't make it "counter-culture" & cool. Corporations break the law all the time.

[Redstone]

210. But is seems like only old farts like me care about something being illegal.

It must be an outmoded concept, judging by the number of personal attacks I've gotten by speaking out on this issue.

Redstone

[Marie26]

214. Well.

I guess that makes me old too, or at least "un-cool." I actually wouldn't care if these were some random punks, but it's really a big-shot company that's behind this. It seems like maybe people aren't seeing that.

[Redstone]

215. They see it. They just don't care. After all, it's easier to make fun of someone whose job

it is to protect the public (like the Boston cops and city officials) than to put yourself in their place.

Isn't it?

Redstone

[NoSheep]

216. That pretty much says it all there. And a good thing too...

I'm all out of popcorn...... ;)

I'd bet my life, one day, like it happens to all of us, the understanding of our small little place in the world will hit like a ton of bricks. And then maybe they'll see why the feelings of the people who had the shit scared out of them today really do matter. And that life is more complicated than they will ever imagine.

:applause:

[Redstone]

217. Oh, BOY, did you bring some reason (and maturity) into the discussion. Thank you.

I really do appreciate it.

Redstone

[Marie26]

224. Apparantly

The public is essentially being asked to identify w/corporate marketers over public servants, and it looks like the corporation is winning out. :crazy: Maybe the bomb squad & subway workers should hire a marketing firm.

[smalll]

239. If it was Tony the Tiger up on those litebrites

doing some "guerrila marketing" for an oil company, the pro-pranksters would scream just as loud as the rest of us about how bad this was. It shocks me that for enough people, leftism is ALL about fashion statements or lifestyle aesthetics.

Oh, and deciding to attempt to be funny (sorry, "ironic") by mocking 70s haristyles??? People have been mocking 70s hairstyles since the early 80s and ever since. These two chuckleheads in Boston were born about in, like, 1980??? Wow. Can hipsters get any lamer?

[Fierce]

240. But they were speaking truth to power!

And exposing the entire media conglomerate of the United States for the hypocrites they are! Even though they were HIRED by that same media conglomerate! Isn't the irony delicious?

And they were highlighting the obnoxiousness of the war on terror!

All by putting up little lighted boxes advertising a cartoon!

They shook the world! With performance art! They're heroes!

Ahem.

[Raine]

246. I agree with you Redstone

but I guess many feel it's OK cause in this country anymore it's anything you can do to make a buck. :puke: