I woke up today and turned on NY1 to see if I should be expecting a snowy weekend or not. Instead, I saw the last few seconds of reports of a bomb scare in Boston. Thanks to the fact that the maintenance man finally came and fixed my internet (for the 500th time) the other day, I jumped on line to see what all the scare was about.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force on Adult Swim. Are you serious?

Being a prospective “ad-creator” myself, I understand that the industry is constantly trying to look for new ways to advertise their products without the stagnant billboards and posters we see plastering our city already. While I can understand the fact that these illuminated signs with the cartoon characters basically giving the bird to any onlooker may upset some people, this issue is not even brought up. The fact that these ads had a battery is pretty much the biggest issue. Quite honestly, I think some officials are blowing this way out of proportion.

According to CNN.com, the Mayor of Boston called this “outrageous,” and a congressman added “It would be hard to dream up a more appalling publicity stunt.” Come on now, I can think of about a million different things that would be a more appalling publicity stunt. In fact, that almost sounds like a challenge…

Not every city is taking this so seriously however. Other cities such as LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle,
Portland, Austin, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and our very own New York City, have had these ads in place for two or three weeks. In some cities they weren’t even noticed by federal authorities, while in others they were simply just removed without much complaining. In New York City, 41 devices have been found and removed.

All in all, I guess this guerilla advertising pretty much worked. Not only did those who see these signs become a little more familiar with Adult Swim and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but now the whole nation knows just a little more about these food characters. Congrats guys.