Yesterday a bunch of LED signs with cartoon characters from a TV
show shut down the city of Boston. They were installed on
bridges, overpasses, etc.
City officials spent $750,000 deploying first responders to the
site of the cartoons.
Now they have arrested two of the "artists" who were hired by
Interference, Inc, a guerrilla marketing firm who was hired by
Turner Broadcasting.
Bail for the artists is set at $100,000.
One of the LED signs is on sale on eBay for $5,000.
This world gets weirder and weirder.
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Boston officials livid over ad stunt
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By KEN MAGUIRE, Associated Press Writer 56 minutes ago
Livid about a publicity campaign that disrupted the city by
stirring fears of terrorism, Boston officials vowed to prosecute
those responsible and seek restitution, while others mocked
authorities on Thursday for what they called an overreaction.
Officials found a slew of blinking electronic signs adorning
bridges and other high-profile spots across the city Wednesday,
prompting the closing of a highway and part of the Charles River
and the deployment of bomb squads.
The 38 signs were part of a promotion for the Cartoon Network TV
show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a surreal series about a talking
milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball. The network's parent is
Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc.
"It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would use
this type of marketing scheme," Mayor Thomas Menino said. "I am
prepared to take any and all legal action against Turner
Broadcasting and its affiliates for any and all expenses incurred."
The 1-foot tall signs, which were lit up at night, resembled a
circuit board, with protruding wires and batteries. Most depicted
a boxy, cartoon character giving passersby the finger âEUR" a more
obvious sight when darkness fell.
Two men who put up the promotions were to be arraigned Thursday on
charges of placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct.
Authorities say Peter Berdovsky, 27, of Arlington, and Sean
Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, were hired to place the devices.
Berdovsky, an artist, told The Boston Globe he was hired by a
marketing company and said he was "kind of freaked out" by the furor.
"I find it kind of ridiculous that they're making these statements
on TV that we must not be safe from terrorism, because they were
up there for three weeks and no one noticed. It's pretty
commonsensical to look at them and say this is a piece of art and
installation," he said.
Fans of the show mocked what they called an overreaction as about
a dozen gathered outside Charlestown District Court on Thursday
morning with signs saying "1-31-07 Never Forget" and "Free Peter."
"We're the laughing stock," said Tracy O'Connor, 34.
"It's almost too easy to be a terrorist these days," said Jennifer
Mason, 26. "You stick a box on a corner and you can shut down a
city."
O'Connor said there's nothing wrong with being vigilant, but said
she said it was ridiculous to shut down a city "when anyone under
the age of 35 knew this was a joke the second they saw it."
Authorities vowed to hold Turner accountable for what Menino said
was "corporate greed," that led to at least $750,000 in police
costs.
As soon as Turner realized the Boston problem around 5 p.m., it
said, law enforcement officials were told of their locations in 10
cities where it said the devices had been placed for two to three
weeks: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle,
Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
"We apologize to the citizens of Boston that part of a marketing
campaign was mistaken for a public danger," said Phil Kent,
chairman of Turner, a division of Time Warner Inc.
Kent said the marketing company that placed the signs,
Interference Inc., was ordered to remove them immediately.
Interference had no comment. A woman who answered the phone at the
New York-based firm's offices Wednesday afternoon said the firm's
CEO was out of town and would not be able to comment until
Thursday.
Messages seeking additional comment from the Atlanta-based Cartoon
Network were left with several publicists.
A voice mail box for Berdovsky was full Wednesday night. The
Associated Press was unable to find whether Stevens had a lawyer.
Authorities are investigating whether Turner or other companies
should be criminally charged, Attorney General Martha Coakley
said. "We're not going to let this go without looking at the
further roots of how this happened to cause the panic in this
city," Coakley said.
In Seattle and several suburbs, the removal of the signs was low-
key. "We haven't had any calls to 911 regarding this," Seattle
police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said Wednesday.
Police in Philadelphia said they believed their city had 56 devices.
The New York Police Department removed 41 of the devices âEUR" 38 in
Manhattan and three in Brooklyn, according to spokesman Paul
Browne. The NYPD had not received any complaints. But when it
became aware of the situation, it contacted Cartoon Network, which
provided the locations so the devices could be removed.
"Aqua Teen Hunger Force" is a cartoon with a cultish following
that airs as part of a block of programs for adults on the
Cartoon Network. A feature length film based on the show is slated
for release March 23.
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Associated Press Writer Tom Hays in New York contribu
