...so to speak, anyway.
Wednesday, a blinking box-like "package" was found near a bridge and also in a subway. In today's post 9-11 world, its easy to see why this would cause authorities to panic.
As it turns out, there was no need for fear. Believe it or not, it was an ad campaign by Turner Broadcasting for Cartoon Network's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", an adult cartoon (sounds dirty, but its not) aimed at the late night audience on that network.
They didn't win over any fans over at Boston's city offices or up the street at the State capitol:
Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless.
"It's a hoax...and it's not funny," said Gov. Deval Patrick.
From a sales and marketing standpoint, this was a huge blunder.
Or, was it?
The promotion was designed to generate some excitment for their cartoon show and win over new adult viewers. Did they do it in a poorly executed manner? Without a doubt. Will they get in some trouble and pay some fines? Probably. Are they getting ten times the publicity from it than they originally intended? You bet!
It made the front page of the Drudge Report, one of the Internet's most popular news sites. And, there are now 235 news stories now showing up on Google for the cartoon series which was barely a blip on the collective consciousness of the U.S. adult population before this marketing mishap.
Its an interesting study in sales techniques, and how sometimes even a poorly executed marketing campaign ends up doing its job.
