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More recently, a publicity campaign for a late-night cartoon show backfired
when it aroused fears of a terrorist attack and temporarily shut down the city of
Boston. The “guerrilla marketing” effort consisted of 1-foot-tall blinking electronic
signs with hanging wires and batteries that marketers used to promote the Cartoon
Network TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force (a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries, and a meatball). The signs were placed on bridges and in other
high-profile spots in several U.S. cities. Most depicted a boxy, cartoon character giving passersby the finger. The bomb squads and other police personnel required to
investigate the mysterious boxes cost the city of Boston more than $500,000—and a
lot of frayed nerves.
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Michael R. Solomon (Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being)