Suspicious Packages being found in Boston(Updated)

K35 Outdoor Advertising
Outdoor Advertising Board
Massachusetts Highway Department
10 Park Plaza, Room 7362
Boston, MA 02116-3973
Tel: (617) 973-7867

The board issues permits for all off-premise billboard signs and other outdoor advertising devices. It also licenses those who engage in the business of outdoor advertising by means of signs subject to the board's regulations. In addition, this board orders the removal of all signs needing permits and not having them.

www.sec.state.ma.us...

And also see:

www.mhd.state.ma.us.../advsigns02&sid=about

[edit on 31-1-2007 by promomag]

DJ, don't forget Coca-Cola as well and maybe Pepsi to??/...not sure...Coke got into some trouble a few years back in India or Pakistan..spray painting logos on boulders and other such natural (nature) objects...

And in my opinion TBS should pay dearly for this stunt!...example...we have freedom of speech (we can argue the validity of that statement later)...but it's illegal as hell (as a prank) to shout fire in a public place...


with freedom come responsibility, TBS was not very responsible here IMO...spank'em!!!

You CAN get permits generally if you go through channels and it is deemed OK. In this case they skipped that part and just put them up.

Think about it. If someone reported a suspicious package on a subway platform, why would they call the bomb squad if the MBTA all ready knew it was an advertisement? I spoke to an associate in the MBTA who indicated that no permit was issued. The same has been reported for one of the advertisements that was hung on a bridge support.

Originally posted by Terapin
You CAN get permits generally if you go through channels and it is deemed OK. In this case they skipped that part and just put them up.

Think about it. If someone reported a suspicious package on a subway platform, why would they call the bomb squad if the MBTA all ready knew it was an advertisement? I spoke to an associate in the MBTA who indicated that no permit was issued. The same has been reported for one of the advertisements that was hung on a bridge support.

Either your source is correct or they are not. In any case, the final report on all this will either say yes, they had permits, or no they did not, and will be fined or whatever accordingly.

Originally posted by deadbang
And in my opinion TBS should pay dearly for this stunt!...example...we have freedom of speech (we can argue the validity of that statement later)...but it's illegal as hell (as a prank) to shout fire in a public place...

Unlike the "yelling fire in the theater," this was not intended to be pulled as a threat by anyone. No one from TBS called the police claiming the packages were bombs. Instead people saw a light and thought it was a bomb on their own judgment. If I had my cell phone on in a movie theater and it gave a red glow around me, but to someone in the back, it looked like my seat was on fire, causing them to yell "fire" and causing panic, should I be the one who is punished in that situations for someone else's misunderstanding?

It was not a TBS. plan. They hired an outside company to do some advertising for them. They were made and installed by Interference Inc. of New York. The company had no comment earlier today and a woman said the CEO was unavailable. They consisted of circuit boards, batteries, LEDs and were held in place on the bridge with magnets. In the city of Boston all advertisements must be affixed in a manner consistent with certain industry standards. Sticking on a device above traffic with magnets is not acceptable nor legal. Proper advertisements are required to have information about the advertiser on them. There were just a lightboard with no identifying information.

One individual described it as mindless corporate vandalism from a guerilla marketer who got busted.

This is by far the DUMBEST ad campaign I've ever seen.
Although it may have been successful. Because of all the coverage.
So maybe not so dumb..Except for the cost of the lawsuit when it comes.
LOL

It cost Boston a lot of money.
And not everyone knows about Aquateen Hungerforce.


It was suspicious. Alert, well meaning citizens called it in. I have no problem with that. I have no problem with people looking out for the well being of their city. That is a good thing, in my book.

BTW..It wasn't just FOXNEWS covering this today..

CNN got plenty of mileage out of the story too..good for them..

Originally posted by spacedoubt
CNN got plenty of mileage out of the story too..good for them..

Yeah, until they figured out it was their sister company that was the culprit!

Originally posted by djohnsto77

Originally posted by spacedoubt
CNN got plenty of mileage out of the story too..good for them..

Yeah, until they figured out it was their sister company that was the culprit!

dj,

LOL, you got that right..
did you happen to see CNN when the truth about these packages came to light?
How did they handle it on air?

Originally posted by spacedoubt
dj,

LOL, you got that right..
did you happen to see CNN when the truth about these packages came to light?
How did they handle it on air?

I wasn't watching CNN when that happened, but I turned to it later to see what they were saying after I heard it was Turner.

They are still reporting on it, but they seem to be kind of burying it compared to FOX. FOX seems to be getting further milage out if it now by tying it to CNN!

[edit on 1/31/2007 by djohnsto77]

Yeah right, and Boston, the ONLY city out of 10 major cities in 2 - 3 weeks.

Something stinks.

Spin spin spin

It's considered free speech to have a display of a cartoon character with a vulgar action (middle finger) out in public where children can see it?

As a parent I don't see how this is acceptable. Why not let people run around naked in public too while they're at it.

Parents should have the right to not have their children exposed to such a thing.

10 Cities, 2-3 weeks of this crap being placed through out in each city....

FBI is involved, State Police and Investigators involved, granted, it couldn't be figured out after the FIRST one, maybe the second of the same thing... but a third, fourth, fifth .... nine of the same things?..... give me a break, this is absolutely NO reason to cause closures, panic, and the amount of action and attention this received.

Promomag,
Ya kinda gotta think about the lowest denominatior though...like 80yr old grandmas...she would for the most part have no idea who Aqua Teens are..would not know whay there was an eletronic man flipping her off, etc...

but she would notice that it was hanging under a bridge and that the good folks at homeland security have told her to be vigilant for out of the ordinary things...of which this would qualify.

It's a stupid stunt, and one that evidently was not permitted, sanctioned, or otherwise known about by authorities.

You would think we have enough billboards in the U.S. to satisfy any companies desire to advertise...this went a bit overboard.

And based on the trouble it caused, someone is gonna have to fork over some of their time (as in go to jail) or money (as in hefty fine).

Originally posted by deadbang
Promomag,
Ya kinda gotta think about the lowest denominatior though...like 80yr old grandmas...she would for the most part have no idea who Aqua Teens are..would not know whay there was an eletronic man flipping her off, etc...

but she would notice that it was hanging under a bridge and that the good folks at homeland security have told her to be vigilant for out of the ordinary things...of which this would qualify.

It's a stupid stunt, and one that evidently was not permitted, sanctioned, or otherwise known about by authorities.

You would think we have enough billboards in the U.S. to satisfy any companies desire to advertise...this went a bit overboard.

And based on the trouble it caused, someone is gonna have to fork over some of their time (as in go to jail) or money (as in hefty fine).

I have no problem with anything you said. What I have a problem with is the fact that our Homeland Security, and Law agencies let this get out of control. That's it. FBI and Law Enforcement should have a clue as to what these are, they patrol our cities and keep an eye out to notice this stuff as much if not more than the average Joe. I also expect that after the 2nd perhaps 3rd report and the simple fact that this is in 10 other major cities, in High traffic areas it didn't need to be the spectacle and heartache it turned out to be for everyone that was put out by all of this.

Look Corporations need to be smacked around, that's fine, but this isn't a free pass for the enforcement agencies that are supposed to have a handle on this stuff especially we end up with results like this.

Promomag, Agreed...if there is one prob I have with all the scaremongering going on back home now it's that the authorities seem to play on the heightened sense of "awareness" (fear) in the population right now...and it seems they are the true benefactors of that fear (increased budgets).

Then you have idiots like these who just add to it and in doing so, give the authorities the ability to say.."see, you are in danger!, from all sides, within and without"

my 2 cents...

Just saw on TV an arrest has been made. I'll post more when I get the details.

Jessica, the children see much worse things than someone being flipped off whenever they watch the movies or television. the average 6 year old has already seen over 1,000 murders on television.

They arrested the guy responsible:

An Arlington man faces charges in connection with a marketing ploy for a late-night cartoon that sent bomb squads scrambling across the city today.

Peter Berdvosky was arrested just after 8 p.m. this evening and charged under a recently enacted statute making it a crime to place a hoax device that results in panic.

Arrest

[edit on 31-1-2007 by jsobecky]

Originally posted by LooseLipsSinkShips
Jessica, the children see much worse things than someone being flipped off whenever they watch the movies or television. the average 6 year old has already seen over 1,000 murders on television.

Yes, but not every parent allows their children to see such things though.