Aqua Teen Stunt Costs Turner and Agency $2M

evw writes "The NYTimes reports that the Turner Broadcasting System and the ad agency responsible have reached a $2M settlement with the city of Boston and state and federal agencies that treated the light boards placed around the city as an act of terrorism (as covered earlier on /.) Half of the money is to cover direct costs associated with the response. The other $1M goes to 'goodwill funds' that will be used for response training and public outreach."

What comes in mind when making this ad?

[lemmen]

What were the ad guys thinking when they made this ad? In a country/world full of fears you just don't place boxes with lights in a city. That is asking for troubles...

Re:"Goodwill funds?"

[macadamia_harold]

Yeah, but wait until they get to the bank:

Mayor Menino: This isn't even a check, it's a bill!
Ignignokt: No it is a check, tell him Err.
Err: It's a bill.
Ignignokt: It's a...! Why the hell are we trying to cash a bill!?

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[Stormwatch]

Does anybody remember the post-9/11 homeland security debacle with Tom Ridge reccomending people use duct tape and plastic sheeting [chicagotribune.com] to protect themselves from terrorists.. and then several people dying by asphyxiating themselves in their own homes?

Butbutbut... duct tape fixes ANYTHING!!!

Re:well...

[meme lies]

It may have cost them $2 million, but the amount of coverage (read: free advertising) they got for the upcoming ATHF movie is almost immeasurable.

Seems to me they'll need an immeasurable amount of publicity for the movie, since it doesn't seem like one single person in Boston was able to recognize an ATHF character.

Re:Boston's full of fucking morons.

[Dilaudid]

I think it's great to see a media company making a $2m grant for the benefit of the mentally disabled. My apologies to anyone reading this who is genuinely mentally disabled, I can understand your annoyance at being compared with these clowns.

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[scatters]

Snopes has an article sourced from AP about 3 Israelis who died as a result from suffocation in a duct tape and plastic sheeted room. Technically they died because their coal burning heat source consumed all of the oxygen, but that probably only changed the length of time before they ran out of air...

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/ducttape.asp [snopes.com]

Also, the article summary states that Boston and the feds are treating the sign board debacle as an "Act of terrorism". TFA, uses the term "fears or terrorism". For fuck's sake, can we have a little honesty in the headlines? Pretty please.

And lastly, it's a little bit ironic that the agency responsible for the campaign is called Interference, Inc...

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Think if the collition forces could have their weapsons replaced with duct tape..

Call the middle east conflict solved

Re:Im still just...

[Joebert]

If we painted all stupid people orange. Then we would know to just stay away from those ones.

Or be tempted to swerve & hit them with our cars.

Poison Gas

[Anonymous Coward]

SO, if I fart in a crowded courthouse (or any public place) and the majority of the crowd is convinced that they smell tear gas and create panic, will I be fined and arrested? If so... that really sucks.

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[aussie_a]

Nearly... it fixes anything that is moving and you want it to stop.

In that case it works as advertised when it killed all those people :P

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[baldass_newbie]

It's causing laughter in the US, too.
What freaking idiots. But then Boston has Ted Kennedy and John Kerry as their senators. So it's about the response you would expect...

Re:24

[zcat_NZ]

Actually I think there was a fairly realistic show about life in a (UK) government office, once. It was called "Yes, Minister"

BLINKENLICHTEN

[ayjay29]

ACHTUNG!

ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!

DAS BOMB IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENUPEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN.

IST NICHT FÜR TAMPERUN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.

ZO TELEFONZED 911 UND REPORTZEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN TILL HOMELANDZEN ZEKURITIZEN.

Re:24

[Frogbert]

It's part of what I call the "24" effect (after the Fox Network program 24).

He said he was from Australia, not under a rock in a dark cave on mars!

Re:"Goodwill funds?"

[Anonymous Coward]

This is false,
As a long time resident of Boston, I can tell you that Menino would really say: mumble mumble mumble unicorn mumble mumble

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[cdrudge]

No. That would be silly. But once rigor starts setting in, spraying the joints with WD-40 will make them movable again.

Re:two guys still face charges

[continuouslife]

Did you really say 'retarted'? Twice?

You know

[el_munkie]

It is kind of funny that someone throwing around the word "retarted" so much managed to make a mistake on almost every line of his post:

You obviousally are a young kid that knows nothing.

facts.

1 - government officials are retarted with IQ's below 100.
2 - Judges are retarted with IQ's below 100.
3 - Panic sells and the above people like to panic.
4 - The above love to punish someone for no real good reason.
5 - go to step 1.

This is in a nutshell government, police and Judicial America. Some of you younger kids try to think otherwise but us that have lived to 40 know better.

Most of your managers, leaders, judges, police are complete and utter idiots. This is a fact of today's society. it rewards the feeble minded that can talk others into giving them power.

the sooner you realize that the world is not run by the geniuses and smart people but by the idiots and morons, the sooner you understand how silly crap like this happens.


Line 1:obviousally -> obviously
Line 2: facts. -> Facts:
Line 3: retarted -> retarded; IQ's -> IQs
Line 4: retarted -> retarded; IQ's -> IQs
Line 8: This is -> This is, ; nutshell -> nutshell, ; police -> police, ; Judicial -> judicial; otherwise -> otherwise, ; us -> we
Line 9: police -> police, ; feeble minded -> feeble-minded ; talk -> convince
Line 10: the -> The , sooner you understand -> sooner you will understand.

Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Proofread your posts before insulting peoples' intelligence.

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[paeanblack]

there's a lot more in Massachusetts than just Boston, right?

You are referring to Rhode Island, right?

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[flyingsquid]

It really has become security theatre. Australia has caught the bug too. According to the person in charge of the entire Federal legal system we have to watch out for terrorist bikers

Hey, don't tell me terrorist bikers are not an issue in Australia. I've seen both "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior", so I know what I'm talking about.

Re:What comes in mind when making this ad?

[Walt Dismal]

At Radio Shack:

Ahmed: I would like 5,000 LEDs please! And hurry!

Clerk: So, building yourself an LED sign, eh!

Ahmed: (suspiciously) What do you mean by that!

Clerk: Well, what else would you use LEDs for?

Ahmed: Oh! Hahahah. Yes, I am building... a sign!

Clerk: Would you like some C4 with that? We're having a sale this month.

Ahmed: No, thank you. I have enough already.

Re:What comes in mind when making this ad?

[delinear]

No, the astonishing thing is that, even after the cops blew the thing apart with water (revealing a total lack of explosive components), they continued to tell the media that it was a suspicious device and that there were more suspicious devices located in key areas of the city. That's where someone really screwed up big time.

You're not thinking quite laterally enough! What if the terrormen made the first one (or handful) of the devices perfectly innocent and then called them in themselves so that authorities would declare them safe, only for the rest of them to be stuffed full of plutoranium gas. The only way to deal with that level of cunning is for everyone to be permanently terrified of everything. For ever. I'm going to go hide in a bunker, now.

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[Schemat1c]

...what were they supposed to think?

Exactly, they are supposed to think

Re:What comes in mind when making this ad?

[Ihlosi]

911? I'd like to report a bomb at the White House, which happens to look exactly like President Bush.

"We already checked it out, and it's a dud."

Breaking Story From Fox News!

[Skeetskeetskeet]

Department of Homeland Security is reporting that calls are flooding in from every major city claiming that there are numerous boxes on every intersection in the country equipped with timed blinking red, yellow, and green lights. DHS reports that this may be a signal to Al Qaeda and has ordered SWAT teams from around the country to dismantle and possibly detonate these devices to insure our public safety. DHS recommends wrapping your entire house in saran wrap and duct tape and using kerosene heaters as a heat source, and to stay indoors until this crisis is over.

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[Cpt_Kirks]

Duct tape even fixes stupid people.

Well, if you cover their mouth AND nose, it does.

Idea for ATHF episode

[ganiman]

To the writers of ATHF:

Please make an episode where the moonenites plant light-brites on Carl's house and convince him they are bombs.

The moonenites are pretty good and pulling stuff like this. They convinved Shake and Meatwad that some old tires was marijuana, they can convince Carl that some light-brites are bombs. Would be hilarious if they spoofed on this.

Re:Slashdot is a funny place

[Anonymous Coward]

how do i mod you up more than 5, must be a bug.

Re:"Goodwill funds?"

[Ignignot]

I hope you can see this, because I'm doing it as hard as I can.

Re:Free advertisement.. er.. low cost.

[rizzo320]

Hey come on. We left for a reason!

Re:You know

[KC1P]

Oh please don't make me do this:

Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Proofread your posts before insulting peoples' intelligence.

Of course you mean "people's". "People" is already plural. Yes, I am administering a self-wedgie as I'm writing this.