2.01.2007

Paranoia, Exhibit I.

Sometimes, a marketing promotion is just a cartoon gag. Not a terrorist attack.

Suspicious Objects Found Throughout Boston

followed by...

Looney Toons

resulted in...

A Public Apology

It is not nice to laugh too hard at others' paranoia, but really, folks. How long should it have taken someone on the Boston PD, or the bomb squad, to Google the cartoon images on the lit devices and identify them?

Interestingly, no one freaked out in the other nine cities. I wonder if their populations are more hooked in to the Cartoon Network.

The outrage in the Boston papers today is seriously misplaced, and believe me, there is a lot of outrage. Shouldn't the "experts" be savvy enough to realize simple circuit boards with batteries? Does it make sense to blame the marketing company that designed the devices, because the police in one city mistook them for bombs? How idiot-proof do you have to make a guerrila marketing campaign?

People are going to jail and presumably to trial over this mishap, and the city is likely to sue the broadcasting company for wasted time and effort. Any predictions on how this will work out in the long run? Or, how it should work out?

4 comments:

deNile said...

No the real problem here is that the Boston PD thought that bombs would have...you know...large numbers of blinking lights on them and wires sticking out 'cuz thats how they look in cartoons. Whats next? Falling Anvil laws and movable hole break in schemes? Or maybe a refresher course in real law enforcement basics, like the key to being a criminal is more likely trying to not look like a criminal.

Jenni said...

At least both guys seemed to be enjoying the media attention, especially the guy with the really long dreads!

Staci said...

I just came across a link to this post on a friend's site about this topic:

Wicked and Artful Men

It cracked me up. Have a read.

Staci said...

Whoa. Too many prepositions in one sentence make it hard to read...

I meant that I found that post on a friend's site. And that post happened to be about the same topic. You get the idea.