BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts attorney general says Turner Broadcasting Systems and Interference Inc. have agreed to pay $2 million for a Cartoon Network advertising campaign that caused a widespread bomb scare.

Boston Bomb Scare

On January 31, 2007 Interference Inc., an advertising firm retained by Turner Broadcasting System Inc., placed several devices around the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and several other communities around the Boston metropolitan area as part of an advertising campaign. The dozen or so devices were discovered throughout the day by concerned citizens and SWAT teams and prompted a massive metro-wide bomb scare as more and more devices were discovered. Turner confirmed the packages had been placed as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign, and a statement released by Turner Broadcasting clarified that the packages were in fact magnetic lights, not bombs.

Two Boston-area men, Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky, who had been hired to place the devices by Interference Inc and Turner Broadcasting Systems, were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and “placing a hoax device.” Adding to the bizarre nature of the incident, as late as 1 p.m. on January 31st, CNN.com was reporting the incident as a “bomb scare”, despite the fact that CNN and Turner Broadcasting are owned by the same parent company, Time Warner Inc.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and other interested parties seemed to regain their sense of humor about the incident as soon as Philip I. Kent offered to compensate the city and and other affected agencies for their expenses, although one or another individuals at Turner Broadcasting Systems would appear to be guilty of conspiracy to place the hoax devices. According to Massachusetts law, a “hoax device” is “any object that a reasonable person might assume to be infernal” (explosive), and is a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment.

(Source: Wikipedia: Turner Broadcasting System)

Devices and unauthorized merchandise sold on eBay

The incident prompted opportunists to acquire the promotional devices from other cities and auction them on eBay, with prices ranging from $500 to over $5,000 USD. Other eBay users created unauthorized merchandise commemorating the event, including such items as T-shirts, stickers, and custom LED signs.

(Source: Michael Marotta, The Boston Herald, “Mooninite moneymaker: T-shirts, LED displays hit eBay”, February 2, 2007)

Tags: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, bomb scare, Boston, TBS, viral, WOM