Boston vs. Terrorist Lite-Brites
Part of me thinks this is funny because, as someone who works in advertising, I can already hear heads rolling past cubicles, and/or the blinging sounds of promotion. Everyone knows that ad creatives sit around all day ripping off ideas. What they get paid for, is to adapt these ideas to whatever product is being schelped off on the masses. As such, this was hot shit last year. So was this.
You can see where this is going. If you have to pimp Aqua Teen Hunger Suck, you combine the aforelinked media together and highlight one of the show's characters in a "ownable" attempt at guerrilla marketing. And "research indicates" that it will work really well for a trife city like Boston, where there is a plethora of college kids that watch this crap.
Genius! Martini's all around! The agency pats theirselves on the back, and the client beams with pride...
Only problem is, when you produce a guerrilla campaign, like any sort of public event, you have to consider all of the angles.
It's lazy and inexcusable that ATHF's marketing company (and/or Turner Broadcasting) did not inform Boston authorities about any such installation. That is, of course, unless they knew perfectly well what they were doing, as evidenced by their 5pm "we did it" call. And yes, they should be extra sympatheic post Boston Tea Party.
I think it's very reasonable to check such an event out first, or at least post a bulletin, saying; "We are conducting an advertising campaign using these installations (pic included) which will be displayed around the city area." CNN should also be reprimanded for adding fuel to the fire and reporting the "hoax", oh wait, they're under the same roof as Cartoon Network...
What's that you say?
"But then it's not a guerrilla campaign, it's planned..." says the Creative Director, who has since been promoted to Executive Creative Director.
Good one, Turner Broadcasting.
Either way, I still think they look like Lite-Brites, and I still think Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Boston both suck.
PS. This just in:
It is called marketing gold.
Comments
The culprits hold a press conference.
Posted by: nate | February 1, 2007 11:41 PM
dude - aqua teen does not suck and the city of boston is out of it's mind as evidenced by the fact that 9 other major american cities that also had lite brite campaigns did not fall into post 911 panic mode.
Does anyone else remember that art project done by the SVA kid right after 911 - http://www.nydailynews.com/12-17-2002/news/crime_file/story/44195p-41611c.html
wonder what happened to him.
Also, in a completely unrelated matter, I would appreciate some mp3 posts to keep me up to date on what you are listening to lately. - Do you know these guys - http://myspace.com/battleofthesomme
Posted by: t dizzle | February 2, 2007 02:13 AM