Two bridges have been closed in Boston, freeway and traffic on the Charles River was blocked due to suspicious flashing devices found at several points in the city. They turned out to be an advertisement for an animated TV movie. The first device was found at the bus and subway stops. Later, the police received a few more calls from residents, who were disturbed by packages with blinking pictures placed in various parts of the city. As the witnesses claimed, some had electric cables protruding.
An anti-terrorist brigade was sent to the site and bridges and highways were closed, when authorities announced, that there is no danger. As the media concern Turner Broadcasting explained, flashing objects advertised a new cartoon series “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”. Light silhouettes on them are characters from the movie.
The campaign has been going on for weeks in ten American cities – explained the concern. The Boston mayor, Thomas Menino, however, threatens to face a heavy penalty due to the threat, what an advertisement has created for safety in the city.
In the evening (local time) Massachusetts Attorney Martha Coakley advised, that 29-year-old Peter Berdovsky was arrested, commissioned to deploy unfortunate advertisements.
It is not clear, who exactly hired Berdovsky and the authorities are wondering, whether or not to charge Turner Broadcasting or the marketing company Intereference as well.
Turner Broadcasting representative Phil Kent apologized to Boston residents for the situation. As he said, in all cities, where the campaign was conducted, Interference has been instructed to remove the ads.
The ad campaign spooked Boston.
