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| Mission Illogical: Movie Promotion Puts "Bomb" in Newsracks |
| 2006-05-05 |
| 1 1/2 stars, two thumbs down. The management of The Los Angeles Times said a musical promotion for Paramount Pictures' upcoming movie, "Mission: Impossible III" was designed to turn the "everyday news rack experience" into an "extraordinary mission." "Good morning, Mr. Phelps. Your mission, if you decide to accept it, is to read our far-left op-ed page without losing your lunch . . . ." But the stunt created a real mission for federal law enforcement officers who had to evacuate patients and staff at an area veterans' medical facility last week. The plan was to conceal digital audio players in 4,500 randomly selected newspaper boxes around Los Angeles and Ventura County. When newspaper buyers opened the racks, the six inch long, two-and-a-half inch wide red plastic boxes -- connected to activator switches on the news rack doors -- would play the easily-recognizable "Mission: Impossible" theme song. A photo of the movie's star, Tom Cruise, adorned a promotional poster on the front of the racks, although there was no warning that the doors had been rigged to play music. Despite the simplicity of the plan, the digital audio players and the red, white and black wires leading to their activator switches did not stay concealed. One newspaper buyer saw the device and switch, thought it was a bomb and called authorities. After an inspection of the newspaper rack could not determine whether the device was explosive, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bomb squad blew up the newspaper rack. "This Los Angeles Times newsrack will self-destruct in five seconds." Calls to Paramount Pictures and The Los Angeles Times were not returned prior to the filing deadline for publication of this article. In a previously released statement, John O'Loughlin, the newspaper's senior vice president for planning, said the boxes were supposed to be hidden from customers. "This was the least intended outcome," O'Loughlin said. "We weren't expecting anything like this." MEMO From: Senior Management To: the bozos in the marketing department who thought up this newsrack promo scheme Your jobs will self-destruct in five seconds. But the newspaper's own security director, who is a retired L.A. County Sheriff's sergeant, acknowledged in the newspaper's report on the incidents that the assumptions made by the customer who called the sheriff's office and by the deputies on the bomb squad were logical. "With the wires leading to the micro-switch on the news rack doors," Mike LaPerruque told reporters, "I can easily see how someone might have misconstrued it as an improvised explosive device." "Our bad. The only bomb we're supposed to be producing is this movie." |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #5 I have this mental image of 4,500 vndalized newsracks, and a surge of kids (Name your ethnic) with new digital audio players. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-05-05 14:13 |
| #4 Dick Cheney disavowed all knowledge of this incident. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-05-05 12:48 |
| #3 Stephen - the LA Slimes should be grateful the bomb squad didn't decide to blow up the paper box in the Slimes' lobby. ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-05-05 12:27 |
| #2 Considering the LA Times comprehensive anti-police stance,I wonder just how long the bomb squad took in deciding to blow the rack-and its contents. A full 1/2 second ? |
| Posted by: Stephen 2006-05-05 11:54 |
| #1 Another Scientology Moment (tm) Brought to you Tom Cruise who ate his daughter's placenta. WTF did you expect. Mr Cruise is fast approaching his Thorzine (tm) momment. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-05-05 11:53 |