Turner Chief Resigns Over Marketing Blunder in Boston

[flowomo]

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6415441.html

(snip)
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/9/2007 2:24:00 PM

On the heels of a major marketing blunder at his network, Cartoon Network chief Jim Samples has resigned.

Samples, Cartoon's Executive VP/GM has been at Cartoon parent company Turner for 13 years. He said due last week's failed Adult Swim marketing campaign, which caused much of the city of Boston to shut down, he felt "compelled" to step down, effective immediately.

"I deeply regret the negative publicity and expense caused to our company as a result of this campaign," Samples wrote in an internal memo to colleagues.

The campaign, featuring light boards with Cartoon Net characters on them, resulted in having to issue several apologies and being ordered to pay a $2 million fine by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. The City of Chicago also plans to bill Turner for the cost of taking down the electronic signs, according to newspaper reports.

The campaign caused the City of Boston to shut down roads and sent police and Homeland Security scrambling to deal with Turner signs, placed under bridges and other public places.

"It's my hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us and get back to our mission of delivering unrivaled original animated entertainment for consumers of all ages," he said.
(snip)

[frylock]

1. i feel much safer now that he's resigned

[aquart]

2. George! That's how it's done by honorable, responsible LEADERS.

Hara kiri is, of course, another option.

[Xipe Totec]

3. Well, this says one thing

Scaring the piss out of Boston was not part of the plan. It lends credence to the beleif that TBS simply screwed up.

[KittyWampus]

5. No, it doesn't. Time-Warner got off incredibly easy. There was no investigation.

We have no idea what the marketing concept actually was or what the suits at Time-Warner actually signed off on.

[Xipe Totec]

9. Pretty steep price for a marketing campaign,

if you have to lose a CEO every time.

Not likely.

[bahrbearian]

7. Or people over reacted, Terror Terror Terror

[Xipe Totec]

11. That's not an either/or situation

it is possible that TBS screwed up, and people overreacted.

What is not likely is that TBS planned it that way.

[bahrbearian]

14. Your right, its not either or, its people overreacted.

[KittyWampus]

4. Good. Now investigate where those calls that came around same time informing police

originated.

Also, who made the decition to place those things on city infrastructure in Boston. Especially since that was done in no other city.

[frylock]

6. ..

In the Seattle area, the first device was found Tuesday by a Woodinville Public Works Department crew working on a railroad trestle over Highway 202, said Woodinville Police Chief John McSwain.

“Public Works found it and took it down and didn’t even bother to call us” because the device didn’t appear to be threatening, he said.

[bahrbearian]

8. Woodinville Public Works Department must not have gotten the memo

"Be afraid Be Very Afraid" Ossama must be rolling on the floor of his cave laughing his ass off.

[Redstone]

10. Good. Somebody should pay.

Redstone

[Beaverhausen]

12. the police chief in Boston is the one who should resign

[NYC]

13. Maybe they could hire his replacement from the Woodinville

Public Works Dept.

[Redstone]

16. He took his mandate to protect the citizens of Boston seriously.

And for that he should lose his job?

Redstone

[Beaverhausen]

18. Protect the citizens of Boston from Lite Brites?

:rofl:

[Redstone]

24. Do you have a job that includes public safety in its job description" If not, you're not

qualified to judge.

Just my opinion, of course; I tend not to judge others whose jobs or experience I don't share.

But that's just me.

Redstone

[Beaverhausen]

25. No, but my job does require me to not overreact to stupid shit

Don't you have a problem with the fact that in every other city that had these 'bombs' everyone figured out they were not anything threatening?

The problem came about in Boston ONLY. Therefore, it is the fault of those in Boston, not the fault of Cartoon Network.

[Redstone]

27. I don't second-guess people who have to regard the safety of the public as part of

their jobs.

But again, that's just me.

Redstone

[rocktivity]

15. I love the smell of vindication in the morning.

I always maintained that Turner was the real culprit for condoning such a dimwitted, insensitive stunt. I was happy enough that they were billed for Boston's police overtime--this is icing on the cake! Maybe as a goodwill gesture, Turner could screen the Aqua Teen movie in Boston for free. Anyhow, CUE THE VONAGE THEME!

:woohoo:
rocknation

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

17. Blunder?

I had never so much as heard of Aqua Teen Hunger Force before the retards in Boston went hystarical and now I am hooked on it!

The terrorists have won,

[deepthought42]

19. Oh for the love of...

Stupid stupid stupid. People overreact over cartoon characters. Now this. :banghead:

[gratuitous]

20. Screwed up for the wrong organization, Mr. Samples

Did a little marketing campaign that scared the pee-doodle out of nervous nellies in Boston and it cost you your job. Now, if you had fucked up a war and actually killed thousands of actual people while working for the Bush administration, you'd get a Medal o' Honor, baby!

I used to think Bostonians were a hardy lot. Matt Damon lied to me.

[youngdem]

21. So all I have to do to get someone fired is to overreact to something ??

Fascinating. Now, if I can only figure out how exactly one OVERreacts to an illegal war, and we are saved folks.

Maybe it's just me, but perhaps the person resigning should be someone within incident command at Boston PD who built this particular Mount Kilimanjaro out of the ant pile they found.

Alarming the public unduly is a FAILURE to protect and serve. They are terrorizing their city in order to blow their own horns, about what big dicked macho men they are to have stopped such a diabolical plot, all the while never stopping to think that they are failing in their jobs by overreacting.

Eight other major cities were host to this marketing campaign, and Boston was the only one who went over the top. Me think that this is the Boston PD still trying to regain public confidence after 9/11, even though that doesn't hang on their neck in any fair way.

[hughee99]

22. Now the name Jim Samples will be famous

in college marketing classes for years to come as a cautionary tail of how not to do marketing. Perhaps the person who came up with "New Coke" can finally get some rest.

Maybe this will help our local economy, though. With Turner footing the bill to take down the signs I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the city send out a 12 man crew to take down each and every sign while on overtime.

[rocktivity]

28. LOL, when I first heard about New Coke

I predicted that it would turn out to be "the biggest marketing disaster this side of the Edsel!"

(Ooops, wait, forget I said that--I'm too young to remember New Coke!)

:headbang:
rocknation

[Dover]

23. Was Samples set up for a fall?

This whole thing stinks...

[Swede]

26. Terrorists will now put lite brights on their bombs.

It's really that simple.