Douglas ([info]beagley) wrote,
@ 2007-02-01 16:01:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Aqua Teen Hunger TERRORISM
Yesterday, a marketing campaign was mistaken for a terrorist threat. Chaos ensued.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a sardonic animated television show featuring creatures known as "Mooninites." To promote the new ATHF movie, marketers put light-bright versions of the Mooninites in random places around 10 cities.

They look like this:



They look really cool at night, but I couldn't find a still-image of an evening shot.

I won't speak on the creature's potential marketing effectiveness... but advertising is a difficult business. Apparently the Nike swoosh is working pretty well, so why not a Lite Bright robot creature thingies?

Anyway, Boston went ballistic. They shut down subways, called out bomb squads and SWAT teams, and generally went nuts. When it was discovered that the signs were advertising and not bombs, OMG, many city officials spoke to the media in harsh overtones, condemning the "hoax" and promising prison terms for the hoaxers. The two young men in charge of the campaign spent the night in jail.

Batteries with wires. Oh noes!

I am in your citiez spreading your culturez of fear!

As if this were not already funny enough, a couple of hours ago the advertisers held a press conference. The press were probably hammering down their doors for a statement. They had been warned by their lawyers not to discuss the case, of course, but they felt they should hold a press conference anyway. So they decided to hold a press conference about a different topic, since they shouldn't talk about the case.

Please, oh please, you must must watch this video. This is what they did:



While you might find these two young men a bit annoying... remember that all of Homeland Security has been putting the hurt on them for 24 hours. The fact that they still have the gumption to do the above press conference is absolutely stunning. These guys should grab onto their 15 minutes of fame with two hands tight... and if they can disrupt the, "Keep 'em scared, keep 'em obedient! Terrorist threat level red!" mantra that our government has been spewing for the past few years, all the better.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: real life is better than the movies.

I made an icon. Feel free to use:
mooninites

(Post a new comment)


[info]rubberduckgrrl
2007-02-01 09:55 pm UTC (link)
Did you realize that this SAME advertising scheme had already taken place in over a half dozen other cities and no one went bezerk?

I still haven't figured out what is so terrifying about a blinking Lite Brite...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]curiositykt
2007-02-01 11:40 pm UTC (link)
Apparently it was frightening because it was sunny out today, and thus they couldn't see the design, they just saw a menacing circuit board with wires sticking out and a battery pack. It wasn't until they put one in a dark corner and noticed that it was blinking and lit up that they got it at all (And apparently that took a few hours.. shoot water cannons first and ask questions later..)

the sad part in my opinion is that the other cities in the country where they did this, have forced the removal of the blinkies.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]beagley
2007-02-02 02:53 am UTC (link)
I'd pay $400 for one. Right now.

And I just bought a couch for that.

-d

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]wildelven
2007-02-02 01:12 pm UTC (link)
There was one from Brookline up on eBay yesterday. The last time I'd checked, it already was $5,000.

Sadly, it appears to have been taken down.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]beagley
2007-02-02 01:41 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I read a news article that mentioned that, but the item was gone when I checked.

Clearly, we should all get LEDs and make our own.

-d

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]curiositykt
2007-02-01 11:38 pm UTC (link)
there were lots of amusing bits about this story, but my favorite was the headlines on all the news papers this morning: Don't laugh. We aren't laughing. This isn't amusing. This is serious. Any media campaign that must tell the public that we need to be afraid because the threat is too amusing to take seriously, is in trouble from the beginning.. but there is a huge generational gap. most people over 30 were Very Concerned. and the rest of us were highly amused.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]beagley
2007-02-02 02:51 am UTC (link)
When it comes right down to it, I think I am on the concerned side. Concerned that someone saw a flashing robot sign and called 911, concerned that we shut down streets/trains because of it, concerned that we are so juiced up on fear and anxiety that we jump into CODE RED so easily. It is that kind of concern that causes us to hate people irrationally, it is that kind of fear that leads to wars.

Anyway... pretty damn funny, I think.

I hope the city sues, and I hope it gets thrown out of court. I hope the two company gets a slap on the wrist... i.e., posting a sign without a permit.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]jktstance
2007-02-02 01:50 am UTC (link)
You know, the battery box is pretty big. I don't think it's ridiculous that bomb squads were called in. It IS fun, though, to make fun of those in power.

Communication between cities could have been better, I suppose.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]beagley
2007-02-02 03:34 am UTC (link)
I agree... it isn't ridiculous that someone called it in, and that a qualified bomb person was called to the scene to check out the device. a LITTLE odd, but not wack-job.

What is wack-job is that whoever that first person was blew it into a giant, city-wide panic button, with radio warnings and people freaking out all over.

The city of Boston are the hoaxers who should be put on trial for causing terror.

-d

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]bodhifox
2007-02-02 01:55 am UTC (link)
Was there any problem in any other city or is Boston extremely paranoid? With all the different kinds of surveilance systems hanging on walls and bridges everywhere I'm surprised anyone even noticed.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]beagley
2007-02-02 03:32 am UTC (link)
Nope, just Boston.

My guess is that one or two particularly Fear-minded people in power decided to go nuts and treat this like a terrorist attack... and everything else came from their decision.

The entire situation should have stopped with the first spotting of the first device, with the first officer on the scene, who should have looked at it and made the right call. But whoever was involved from the beginning was so trained to fear fear fear.

The city of Boston are the hoaxers who should be put on trial for causing terror.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]benosmash
2007-02-02 06:36 am UTC (link)
I personally thought that the way they handled the press was pretty funny.

The terror scare was kind of ridiculous. I think that they shouldn't be held accountable for the actions of the masses. We're (Most of us, at least,) too wound up thanks to the choices of those in power.

(Reply to this)


[info]sithcrow
2007-02-02 12:37 pm UTC (link)
two guys got arrested in boston over it -- not sure if they're the same two guys you're talking bout but i saw them on the news last night and they were a frickin' trip! the police were getting so pissed because they just refused to be intimidated. it was great!

-me

(Reply to this)


[info]wildelven
2007-02-02 02:11 pm UTC (link)
As I read elsewhere, you can't buy this kind of advertising. Especially since the two guys and Cartoon Network seem to be the sympathetic parties here.

I predict that our two jailbirds will have good careers ahead of them. ;)

(Reply to this)


[info]yoicksandaway
2007-02-02 02:39 pm UTC (link)
Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens are heroes. Treating the fear-mongering attitude the City of Boston and the media (I'm looking at you, Fox News) have taken in the Mooninite Scare seriously only emboldens the terrorists. As such, I have resolved likewise not to talk about it at all.

...

DAMMIT!!!

(Reply to this)


[info]anadamous
2007-02-02 07:07 pm UTC (link)
Here Douglas, an icon for you:

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]identitee
2007-02-02 10:41 pm UTC (link)
Haha! I love it! :D

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]cosmonoir
2007-02-02 07:30 pm UTC (link)
That picture is now my desktop background! Soooo ridiculous.

(Reply to this)


[info]3v1lk1tt3n
2007-02-06 01:25 am UTC (link)
...but have you played the game......

http://www.adultswim.com/games/athf_mooninite/index.html?showId=316905&name=Aqua%20Teen&timezone=EST

(Reply to this)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…