The head of the Cartoon Network has stepped down because of the recent terror scare in Boston, which was caused by the city’s overreaction to an advertising ploy — nine other cities managed not to descend into hysterics when the Lite-Brite-like advertisements began appearing. Jim Samples shouldn’t have to lose his job because authorities in Boston mistook a blinking cartoon character for an act of terrorism.

AP:

Dozens of blinking electronic devices showing a crude cartoon character had been planted in 10 cities as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote the cartoon “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” but when Boston authorities got a series of calls about the devices on Jan. 31, they feared the circuit boards with wires could be explosives.

Cartoon Network’s corporate parent acknowledged a few hours into the scare that the boards were harmless and part of a marketing move.

On Monday, Turner Broadcasting and an advertising agency involved agreed to pay $2 million in compensation for the emergency response the devices had spurred in Boston. The Cartoon Network is a division of Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting, whose parent is media giant Time Warner Inc.

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#advertising#boston#media#police#terrorism#time warner