Low End Mac apologizes for the panic created when LED signs
promoting our website were mistaken for bombs yesterday in Redmond,
Washington. We just assumed people would recognize our friendly Mac
mascot, as the compact Mac shape is iconic.
"Maybe we should have made it look like a traditional Windows
PC," lamented Low End Mac's Dan Knight.
Lesson learned the hard way. Following are news reports from CNN
and the Associated Press about yesterdays events in Redmond, the
home of Microsoft.
Bomb squad member holds LEMMY
Marketing Bomb
CNN: A guerilla marketing exercise for Low End Mac has caused
multiple security alerts in Redmond, Washington, where the
company's new mascot was mistaken for a bomb.
The bizarre debacle started after a marketing firm working for
Cobweb Publishing, the parent company of Low End Mac, put up
electronic light displays depicting LEMMY, a character greeting
Redmond citizens and visitors with a wave. The light boards, which
have been in plain site for the past two weeks, were somehow
misinterpreted as suspicious devices.
The city swung into a full security alert. Local, state, and
federal law enforcement agencies shut bridges and sections of the
Sammamish River - and CNN reported early on Thursday morning that
US Northern Command was monitoring the situation from its Colorado
Springs headquarters.
Two men involved in planning and executing the stunt have been
arrested, the Washington attorney general Rob McKenna has
confirmed. The charges they face include a felony - placing a hoax
device that caused panic - and a separate count of disorderly
conduct.
It remains a mystery as to why a full security alert was called
on Wednesday over advertising devices that had been present in
Redmond - and other major US cities including Boston, Atlanta,
Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles - for the past two weeks,
although McKenna attributed it to the devices having a "very
sinister appearance" and "wires".
Cobweb Publishing spent most of Wednesday evening apologizing
for the chaos in the form of a written statement.
"We apologize to the citizens of Redmond that part of a
marketing campaign was mistaken for a public danger," said Cobweb
Publishing CEO Daniel Knight. "We appreciate the gravity of this
situation and, like any responsible company would, are putting all
necessary resources toward understanding the facts surrounding it
as quickly as possible.
"As soon as we realized that the unfamiliar waving Macintosh was
being mistaken for something potentially dangerous, appropriate law
enforcement officials were notified, and through Federal law
enforcement channels, we identified the specific locations of the
advertisements in all 10 cities in which they are posted.
"We also directed the third-party marketing firm that posted the
advertisements to take them down immediately.
"We appreciate the commitment demonstrated by the Redmond police
department and other law enforcement agencies, as well as the
Washington Governor's Office, and deeply regret the hardships
experienced as a result of this incident."
Mascot Creates Panic in Redmond
AP: In hindsight, complimentary bags of 30-pin SIMMs would have
worked better.
But without the benefit of hindsight, if not a clue, the
powers-that-be behind Low End Mac decided to promote the Cobweb
Publishing website by deploying little blinking light boards in
various outdoor locations across 10 major US cities.
All went well until Wednesday morning in Redmond, when, as the
Seattle Times reported, a commuter spotted one of the blinking
light boards in a bus station. Soon, there were reports of other
blinking light boards throughout the city, some near bridges and
highways.
All hell promptly broke loose.
Traffic was stalled and nerves frayed as authorities scrambled
to determine if the suspicious devices - 10 in all - were
dangerous, incendiary devices.
It didn't take long
to see that the battery-powered boards, some with exposed wires,
weren't bombs. And it didn't take long to see that the LEMMY
promotion was a bomb. A big one.
"We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any
danger," said a statement from Cobweb Publishing, parent of Low End
Mac.
Cobweb fessed up to the unorthodox "billboards" Wednesday
afternoon. It said the light boxes were part of "an outdoor
marketing campaign" that had been undertaken in 10 cities: New
York; Los Angeles; Chicago; San Francisco; Philadelphia; Atlanta;
Seattle; Boston, Massachusetts; Austin, Texas, and, obviously,
Redmond, Washington.
Only the blinking light boards in Boston prompted a scare. But
Cobweb wasn't taking anymore chances. It said it was contacting
local and federal law enforcement, and divulging the "exact
locations" of all of its LEMMY promos, in all of the cities.
Knight's make-good actions weren't cutting it with authorities
who'd just lived through a day suited for 24's Jack Bauer.
"It is outrageous, in a post 9/11 world, that a company would
use this type of marketing scheme," Redmond Mayor Rosemarie Ives
said in a statement.
Ives, as well as Washington Governor Christine Gregoire,
broached the possibility of legal action against Cobweb
Publishing.
The Associated Press identified the brains behind the
promotional misfire as the New York City-based firm, Interference
Inc. That company's website was down Wednesday night; its CEO
unavailable for comment, the wire service said.
As Cobweb Publishing's Dan Knight explains, LEMMY is the new Low
End Mac mascot and was designed on a Lite Brite. According to
reports, LEMMY is the character depicted in the now-infamous
blinking light boards.
