As a native East Coaster, I rarely find anything to complain about that side of the country. But this past week or so I have watched in surprise as Boston, one of my favorite cities, turned into an anti-guerilla marketing, terrorist stopping machine. How in the world one city got so worked up over a marketing-stunt-turned-bomb-scare is beyond me.

Yes, the East Coast has endured more than its share of disasters. I don’t think any of us truly appreciate or understand the fear that comes from living through a random sniper prowling the streets (DC 2002—my brother’s high school football season was cancelled to keep the kids from being outside and in the line of fire) or a world-stopping terrorist attack (NYC and DC 2001—my mother-in-law was in the Pentagon when it was hit and is still recovering emotionally from that day), and the precautions you find yourself taking to protect the places and people you love. So I give credit to the Boston police force that took the threat seriously and did everything in their power to protect the city.  But at the same time, come on! Chill out! These didn’t look like bombs – they looked like electric, neon signs of cartoon characters flipping the bird. 

After the fiasco that was this campaign, and the amount Turner will be paying out of pocket to get this problem to quiet down and go away, it will be a while before we see another nation-wide guerilla marketing campaign. 

I think the whole thing is an unfortunate series of events. We all know that thanks to TiVo and similar devices, traditional advertising is blocked out, even skipped. People zoom through commercials or use the 2:30 to get up and move around. Most of us don’t even notice ads anymore. Guerilla marketing is currently my favorite to observe and watch. I love the creativity and ingenuity that goes into a single campaign. They’re clever. They push advertisers and marketers to stretch. They’re just fun.

Well, at least until someone sees them as a terrorist threat.

It’s a shame that world events have pushed us to the point that we’re paranoid. But the lesson we can take away from this is that, unfortunately, the world has pushed us to this point. People are scared. They will call the police on anything that could be a bomb threat, from backpacks to envelopes to marketing campaigns. If we aren’t allowed to take water bottles on airplanes, we should anticipate that placing electric signs around major cities may be a problem. This event will make companies and especially advertising agencies pause and think before they act, which may not be a bad thing. The best marketers will be the ones who can examine and foresee any possible backlash on their campaign. Expect the worst case scenario and plan for it. And of course, now we all know: Don’t Mess with Boston.