Cartoon Network President Cracks

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week and a half you know all about the marketing stunt that cost Turner Broadcasting and their marketing company $2 million. The Cartoon Network attempted to create some buzz about their upcoming movie for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They hired Interference Inc, a marketing firm that set up glowing billboards of one of the characters from the movie. They set up in several major US cities, but they encountered some controversy in Boston.

Some people in Boston thought that the glowing billboards looked dangerously close to bombs with the wires hanging out of the back. They were also located in places like subways and under bridges where bombs have been known to be, which is scary in the world we live in today. The publicity the event got was great for the movie. The audience for this movie is filled with rebels who loved the stunt. Turner and Interference were fined for the stunt, but the fine was well worth it for the Cartoon Network. The story blew up and exposure they received for the stunt was huge.

Turner and Cartoon Network have been under heat the past week and a half and it finally became too much for Cartoon Network president Jim Samples. Samples sent an e-mail to network employees saying "I feel compelled to step down, effectively immediately, in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch." He was under fire, and was probably on his way to being fired. In an attempt to keep some of his credibility he stepped down before he was let go. The event in Boston caused so many problems that it became too much to handle for Samples. He had to deal with the legal difficulties that arose from the incident, the large fine, and the public relations disaster that was created.

The buzz about this event was what eventually led to Samples' resignation. The story blew up because it peaked the interest of so many audiences. Everyone wanted to know more details about what Interference Inc. was thinking, if they intended any of the effects that occurred in Boston, and everything that the story was about. The news traveled fast through many different media sources and the nation was kept on top of the story all week long.