15 years ago: Marketing campaign triggers panic in Boston

“Mooninite” signs placed across city caused major law enforcement response, and extensive media coverage

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Cartoon Network 15 years ago: Marketing campaign triggers panic in Boston. File photo

By Boston 25 News Staff and Associated Press

BOSTON — Where were you 15 years ago today?

If you happened to be near a television or radio in Boston, you may recall the panic caused by a lighted “Mooninite’ signs.

It was January 31. 2007 when highways, bridges and some transit stations around Boston were closed by a terror scare that turned out to be nothing more than a guerrilla marketing campaign.

The panic was caused by two artists who placed about three dozen lighted signs of a cartoon character called a “Mooninite” making an obscene gesture in and around the city.

The signs were promotions for the series “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” But they prompted a massive law enforcement response.

Two men were arrested, however prosecutors agreed not to pursue criminal charges against them after the pair performed community service and gave a public apology in court.

Peter Berdovsky, center, and Sean Stevens, second from right, who had planted obscene electronic devices in the Boston area in January, 2007 that prompted a widespread bomb scare in a botched promotion for the Cartoon Network, appear in Charlestown District Court Friday, May 11, 2007, in Boston. They watch alongside Berdovsky's attorney Jeffrey Pyle, second from left, as Assistant Attorney General Renee Dupuis, left, passes documents to a court clerk. Prosecutors agreed not to pursue criminal charges against them after the pair performed community service and gave a public apology in court. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole) (Lisa Poole/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Fallout was swift. Some thought it was an overreaction and Boston was widely ridiculed.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Cartoon Network Then Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley speaks during a news conference, Monday, Feb. 5, 2007 in Boston. Coakley said that Turner Broadcasting Systems and Interference Inc. had agreed to pay $2 million for a Cartoon Network advertising campaign that caused a widespread bomb scare. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) (Stephan Savoia/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The devices were placed in nine other cities, and barely registered.

[ Head of Cartoon Network Resigns After Botched 'Aqua Teen' Marketing Stunt ]


Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW