Two men, one a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art, were arrested in having connection to placing light boards around Boston which created a bomb scare. The light boards were designed to help promote the late night show Adult Swim's upcoming movie. The bomb scare prompted multiple bridges and a river way being shut down. Turner Broadcasting Co.'s CEO, Phil Kent, has issued a formal apology for the events. However, Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino was not receptive of the apology, stating the events that occurred stemmed from 'corporate greed.' It did cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars to respond to the bomb scare. The light boards had been placed in 9 other cities, and none were responded to with any turmoil.
In my eyes, the light boards were a terrible prospect for marketing. Not only would most people not be familiar with the Adult Swim character, the combination of wires, bright lights, and shady characters (the two men setting them up around town were questionable) can't possibly equal a successful campaign. While it could be said that the Boston Police Department overreacted, Turner Broadcasting should have clarified what was going on with their light-advertising before posting the boards around the city.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/31/boston.bombscare/index.html
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