Nine blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a marketing campaign for a late-night cable cartoon.

At least one of the devices depicts a character giving the finger.

Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless.

Turner Broadcasting, parent company of Cartoon Network, said the devices were part of a promotion for the TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

“The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger,” Turner said in a statement. It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

The first device was found at a subway and bus station underneath Interstate 93, forcing the shutdown of the station and the highway.

Later, police said four calls, all around 1 p.m., reported devices at the Boston University Bridge and the Longfellow Bridge, both of which span the Charles River, at a Boston street corner and at the Tufts-New England Medical Center.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a cartoon with a cultish following that airs as part of the Adult Swim late-night block of programs for adults on the Cartoon Network. The surreal series centers on a talking milkshake (Master Shake), fries (Frylock) and a meatball (Meatwad). The cartoon also includes two trouble-making, 1980s-graphic-like characters called “mooninites,” named Ignignokt and Err _ who were pictured on the suspicious devices. They are known for making the obscene hand gesture depicted on the devices.

Ignignokt is always stirring up trouble. I’m sure Carl is glad they’re somewhere else causing property damage. The city of Boston must be made up of a bunch of pansies to be scared of a couple of ATARI-era sprites, painted up like Lite-Brite.

Mooninites Taunt Boston Police

Just goes to show that we’re all still in that Post-9/11 daze. If this kind of thing happened at an airport, somebody would have been shot for sure. This kind of situation tells a lot about the paralyzing effects of irrational fear on an entire population. Although a guy on CNBC said this kind of thing wouldn’t have happened in New York City. He may be right about that. Boston will never live this one down.

This is great advertising for the movie, by the way. Time Warner marketing department, you’ve done it again! Bonuses for everyone!

UPDATE:

CNN reports that freelance artist Peter Berdovsky, 27, has been arrested in connection with the scary electronical moon-men threat. Berdovsky is facing charges of “placing a hoax device in a way that results in panic”, as well as one count of disorderly conduct, said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. The charge is a felony, she said.

This is the funny part:

“It had a very sinister appearance,” Coakley told reporters. “It had a battery behind it, and wires.”

Yes - there was a BATTERY!! With WIRES!! Therefore, it’s EVIL, along with IPods, Laptops, watches, and light bulbs.

The irrational overblown reaction is shared by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who said “I just think this is outrageous, what they’ve done … It’s all about corporate greed.”

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said: “In the environment nowadays … we really have to look at the motivation of the company here and why this happened.”

He must be kidding. Yes, the motivation of Turner Broadcasting is to sow chaos, confusion, and terror, all in the name of promoting a talking milkshake, fries, and wad of meat.

I noticed that Turner Broadcasting said the devices had been in place for two to three weeks in Boston; New York; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Can somebody tell me why NY, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philly went about their business and yet Boston thew a hissy fit and completely shut down? I just wanna know, that’s all.

UPDATE 2:

YouTube video of The Guys From the Glitch Crew setting up the displays:

Also, some Flickr photos of the “bombs” in question can be found here and here.

Peter Berdovsky, the guy they arrested, is part of the Glitch Crew and goes by the name Zebbler. The Glitch Crew work for Interference Inc., which does guerilla marketing campaigns. Their website appears to be currently down.

I just saw a clip of their press conference.

Their lawyer said they weren’t going to discuss the case, so they decide to discuss 60s and 70s hair. The mainstream media, oblivious to the fact that they are being (rightly) insulted, stick around for more abuse. ZeroBoss talks more about it here. I like the attitude of these two guys (even though their comedy needs work). They rightly sense the post-911 persecution being heaped upon them and handle it appropriately.

~Bill G