When promotion goes bad

I think that there is such a thing as bad publicity.

Froth, fear, and fury
Cartoon devices spur antiterror sweeps; two men are arrested

Enraged city and state officials yesterday readied a legal assault against those responsible for a guerrilla marketing campaign that dotted the city with small battery-powered light screens, setting off fears of terrorism and shutting down major roadways and subway lines for parts of the day.

Authorities last night were retrieving the 38 magnetic signs depicting cartoon characters under bridges, on storefronts, and outside Fenway Park, among other locations, that were installed as part of a Turner Broadcasting System marketing blitz for a Cartoon Network television show.

For much of the day, police treated the signs, which measure about 1 by 1 1/2 feet and feature protruding wires on one side, as potentially dangerous. But their investigation shifted when they happened to move one of the signs into a darker area. The sudden lack of sunlight prompted the lights forming the character's image to brighten into color. Sometime between 2 and 3 p.m., according to a public safety official, a Boston police analyst recognized the image as a cartoon character, and police concluded it was likely a publicity stunt.

When I worked for the Gamblers, Mark Osiecki -- the head coach -- set up a scavenger hunt as a team-building exercise. I drove all over Green Bay on the morning of the hunt and put six or seven pucks in six or seven locations.

As you might imagine, Lambeau Field was a location to put some pucks. Someone with the Packers noticed the pucks and thought, "Hey, these don't belong here." and move them before the players could get there.

Fortunately, the police weren't called and Red Batty, the equipment manager for the Packers and a big hockey fan, saw the pucks, called Mark, found out what was going on, and put the pucks back.

Another fortunate thing, only the players found the pucks that were in the stairwell of the parking garage in downtown Green Bay. I don't think that Red could have bailed me out of that one.