NEW YORK—A promotional stunt by Turner Broadcasting may have set off a security scare in Boston and put the network under fire, but it also achieved just what such campaigns set out to do: Stir up big buzz for little money.
As part of what is known as a "guerrilla" campaign, Turner Broadcasting placed small, animated billboards to promote a cartoon for adults around Boston, New York, Los Angeles and other cities several weeks ago.
The ad campaign took an unintentional turn on Wednesday, when Boston authorities mistook the devices for possible bombs and shut down parts of the city.
It was Boston's biggest security scare since the September11 attacks and investigators are looking into Turner's role, but some experts say the promotion still may be chalked up a success.
"They achieved far more than they probably ever set out to with this group of, say, 21- to 35-year-olds that they were trying to reach," said Tracy Ryan, an advertising professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Ryan, like other experts, criticized the decision to place the electronic devices around cities given the current political environment. But industry watchers also said that the audience for the cartoon, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," is often hard to reach through more conventional methods.
"They respond well to things that are nontraditional and rebellious," Ryan said. "This target market probably thinks it's fantastic that they were able to cause an uproar."
A unit of Time Warner Inc., Turner Broadcasting worked on the campaign with Interference Inc., an agency known for the sort of low-cost guerrilla or viral campaigns that promote brands with unconventional marketing.
In a statement, Turner Broadcasting said it regretted the devices "were mistakenly thought to pose any danger."
Interference Inc. could not be reached for comment.
Butterflies, Popsicles, and Spray-Paint
Other such campaigns, in which advertisements crop up in unusual places or unexpected ways, have stumbled in the past.
Snapple, for instance, tried to erect an immense, 25-foot popsicle in 2005 to promote a line of frozen treats, only to have it melt and swamp New York's Union Square.
IBM also ran into trouble with officials in several major U.S. cities when it spray-painted advertisements for its Linux operating systems on sidewalks and street corners. Microsoft Corp. came under criticism when it littered New York streets with MSN Butterfly decals.
But Andrew Benett, chief strategy officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide, called the Turner stunt "kind of the apex" of guerrilla campaigns that went awry.
"But it's very safe to say, while not done on purpose, it may have been far more successful than planned," he said.
Still, while Turner Broadcasting may have successfully reached the audience of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," it likely faces a broader public relations headache, said Drew Neisser, the chief executive of Renegade Marketing Group.
"They got a lot of P.R.—but they are probably not happy on the corporate level," said Neisser, who has overseen viral campaigns such as using an old checkered cab with HSBC's logo to give free rides to the bank's customers in New York.
"The question becomes in all this does the marketer have any responsibility to the world at large? Obviously my perspective is they do," said Neisser. "You should be able to sell your products without making the world any worse."
Jamie Tedford, senior vice president for marketing and media innovation at Arnold Worldwide, an advertising agency, echoed concerns about corporate responsibility in marketing.
"Unfortunately, it might end up as a short term gain in viewership because of this stunt," he said. "This is a perfect example of crass, old-school saying that all publicity is good publicity."
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