Gizmodo: mooninite

Boston Getting LED'ed On ATHF Mooninite Anniversary

Jason Chen — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:50:37 EST

Those of us not brain damaged enough to remember stuff from a year ago will recall the crazy response Boston had to the LED Mooninites plastered around their city to promote the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. This elite group of people lacking severe head trauma sure didn't forget, and they're definitely not letting the city of Boston forget it either as they're throwing up even more Mooninite LEDs today in celebration of the crapfest that happened last year. 1-31-07, a day that will live on in internet DIY nerd infamy. [MAKE]

Jack Bauer vs. Boston's ATHF Scare

Jason Chen — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:20:39 EST

If there's one man that can take down the threat to national security that is the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Mooninites, it's Jack Bauer. – Jason Chen

Turner Broadcasting Coughs Up $2 Million for Boston 'Bomb' Scare

Charlie White — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 10:48:02 EST

Turner Broadcasting accepted full responsibility for scaring up cops and homeland security officials in Boston last week, with the broadcast giant and its contractor Interference Inc. agreeing to plunk down $2 million to soothe everyone's nerves after the goofy fiasco had the city up in arms.

One million bucks will be handed over to state and local agencies that pretty much panicked at the sight of a few blinking lights, and the other million will be forked over to our intrepid Department of Homeland Security to further ensure that no one is carrying deadly hair gel on airplanes.

That sum of $2 million looks like a bargain considering the amount of publicity the Cartoon Network received for its Aqua Teen Hunger Force promotion. Come to think of it, that's a half-mill cheaper than a Super Bowl spot. Once again, we learn that playing upon people's fears is a perfect way to get their undivided attention. – Charlie White

Turner, contractor to pay $2M in Boston bomb scare [CNN]

Boston Mooninite Fetching $5k on eBay

Louis Ramirez — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:15:25 EST

We're not sure whether it's the real deal or not, but if you want one of those LED Aqua Teen Hunger Force Mooninites up in your room, you can get one via eBay for a cool $5001 (as of the time of this writing). The seller claims it's leggit (he pulled it from Commonwealth Avenue in Boston) and that he'll use part of the money to fund public art in Boston. If you win, just make sure you don't go putting it on any windows or bridges. – Louis Ramirez

eBay

Promotional Gadgets Grip Boston in Fear and Loathing

Charlie White — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 08:30:52 EST

Gadgets practically turned the entire city of Boston upside down yesterday. Fourteen of these horrifying and obviously dangerous devices were found throughout the city, and it turns out they were light boards depicting a "Mooninite," an outer space delinquent who shows up on the Adult Swim show Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

As Err the Mooninite flipped the middle finger in an obviously menacing way at passersby, paranoid citizens figured that this was some kind of bomb, and triggered a gigantic fraidy-cat response of police, security officials and politicians. WTF?

The crude moon man devices were all part of a marketing campaign instigated by the Adult Swim network, part of Turner Broadcasting, which apologized for the incident. Looks like the promotion worked.

Even though the devices were distributed in 10 different cities, Boston was the only one that responded with such fearful enthusiasm. Boston officials, on the lookout for terrorist threats, were obviously not familiar with the television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

As they communicated among themselves, they quickly determined there were numerous light boards of identical design distributed throughout the city. "It had a very sinister appearance," Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley told reporters. "It had a battery behind it, and wires."

The light boards were placed in their public locations by Peter Berdovsky, a freelance video artist, and Sean Stevens, both employed by Turner Broadcasting for the stunt. Now the two are in jail, charged with disorderly conduct, and also for "placing a hoax device in a way that results in panic."

It's hard to believe that a harmless device such as this would cause a reaction similar to that of the apes in 2001: A Space Odyssey—creeping up to the monolith, nearly paralyzed with fear, touching it and jumping back in horror. Be afraid. Be very afraid. That's life in the 00s. – Charlie White

Two held after ad campaign triggers Boston bomb scare [CNN]