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Quote:CARTOON MORONS SPUR MASS. PANIC
STUNT HERE, TOO
By PHILIP MESSING and HASANI GITTENS
<B>COSTLY PRANK:</B> A cop removes a gizmo planted at 33rd and 12th yesterday to promote "Aqua Teen Hunger Force".
COSTLY PRANK: A cop removes a gizmo planted at 33rd and 12th yesterday to promote "Aqua Teen Hunger Force".
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February 1, 2007 -- This is one ad campaign that really bombed.

The Cartoon Network caused some serious trouble in the real world yesterday when electronic devices it planted in 10 cities as part of a guerrilla-marketing plan unleashed a massive bomb scare that shut down parts of Boston in the afternoon and also caught the NYPD's attention last night.

Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, who installed the devices, were both charged last night by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley with placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct.

Berdovsky told the Boston Globe he was an "artist" and was "a little, kind of freaked out."

The "bombs" were part of a promotion for the late-night cartoon show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

The show is geared toward the Doritos-munching insomniac stoner crowd.

The devices, which Cartoon Network parent company Turner Broadcasting described as magnetic lights, were found around Beantown yesterday, causing a series of closures and evacuations.

Highways, bridges and an area along 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 Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick.

An NYPD spokesman said 41 "Aqua Teen" boxes were found and confiscated by cops in Manhattan and Brooklyn last night. Two were at West 33rd Street and 12th Avenue, about 20-feet above ground, stuck to an overpass.

Over a dozen cops and four ESU trucks responded andshut down the street for 45 minutes after a team from the intelligence unit spotted the devices.

Turner Broadcasting said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

"We apologize to the citizens of Boston that part of a marketing campaign was mistaken for a public danger," said Turner Chairman Phil Kent.

The marketing company responsible for the campaign, Interference Inc., had no immediate comment.

The first device in Boston was found at a subway and bus station underneath Interstate 93, forcing the shutdown of the station and the highway.

Later, "suspicious packages" were found at the Boston University Bridge, the Longfellow Bridge, at a street corner and at the Tufts-New England Medical Center.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he was "prepared to take any and all legal action" against the company and its affiliates "for any and all expenses incurred during the response to today's incidents."

Additional reporting by Larry Celona, Tom Liddy

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Quote: 2 men released as Boston officials seek restitution for ploy that sparked terrorism fears

The Associated Press
Thursday, February 1, 2007

BOSTON

In nine cities across the United States, blinking electronic signs displaying a profane, boxy-looking cartoon character caused barely a stir.

But in Boston, the signs — some with protruding wires — sent a wave of panic across the city on Wednesday, bringing out bomb squads and prompting officials to shut down highways, bridges and part of the Charles River.

Something that may have been amusing in other cities was not funny to authorities here, the city that served as the base for some of the hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. Officials defended their reaction Thursday even as two men charged in the case, and some residents, mocked the response as overblown.

Young Bostonians familiar with the unconventional marketing tactics used by many companies tended to see the city's reaction as unmitigated hysteria.

Tracy O'Connor, 34, a retail manager, called the police response "silly and insane," contrasting it with that in other cities where no one reported concerns about the devices — an advertising gimmick for the Cartoon Network show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

"We're the laughing stock," she said.

Public safety officials and a large segment of Boston's older generation condemned the publicity campaign as unthinkable in today's post-9/11 world.

"Just a little over a mile away from the placement of the first device, a group of terrorists boarded airplanes and launched an attack on New York City," police Commissioner Edward Davis said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"The city clearly did not overreact. Had we taken any other steps, we would have been endangering the public," he said.

Davis said that as calls were coming in about the electronic signs in rapid succession Wednesday afternoon, police also received reports of two devices that resembled pipe bombs and had a confirmed report of a man walking down the hallways of New England Medical Center making a rambling speech about "God getting us today" and "This would be a sorry day."

Officials found 38 blinking electronic signs on bridges, a subway station, a hospital, Fenway Park, and other high-profile spots in and around the city.

In New York, officers went to the various locations and found only two of the devices — both attached to a highway overpass. Police said it did not appear it was targeting any landmarks such as the subway, Empire State Building or Brooklyn Bridge.

Officials have vowed to hold responsible Turner Broadcasting Inc., the parent company of the Cartoon Network, which airs the series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball.

Two men who authorities say were paid to place the devices around the city pleaded not guilty Thursday to placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, were released on $2,500 (€1,920) cash bond — apparently amused by the situation, even though they face up to five years in prison.

They met reporters and TV cameras and launched into a nonsensical discussion of hair styles of the 1970s. As they walked off, Berdovsky gave a more serious comment.

"We need some time to really sort things out and, you know, figure out our response to this situation in other ways than talking about hair," Berdovsky said.

Late Thursday, Berdovsky released a statement through a Boston law firm. It said he "never imagined" the devices would be perceived as dangerous and he never intended to do anything to frighten the community.

"I regret that this incident has created such anguish and disruption for the residents and law enforcement officers of this city," the statement said.

The devices did not prompt calls of concern in any of the nine other cities where Turner said the devices were placed. Police in the other cities fanned out to find and remove them after Boston's scare.

Some enterprising people got to the devices before police: At least seven were for sale Thursday afternoon on the Internet auction site eBay, ranging in price from $500 (€384) to $2,100 (€1,613).

The publicity campaign was conceived by the Adult Swim marketing department and approved by the head of the Cartoon Network, Turner spokeswoman Shirley Powell said Thursday. She said the devices had been up for two weeks around the country and the network had not received any calls about them.

"We were simply promoting a TV show," she said. "If we had ever perceived this to be something threatening safety, we would never have proceeded with it."

The marketing company that placed the signs, Interference Inc. of New York City, did not return calls seeking comment and its offices were closed Thursday.