Rushing to Defend the Aqua Teen Hunger Force!

Spike, a contributing writer that I admire very much for Brains on Fire, wrote this post about the Aqua Teen Hunger Force marketing campaign. He writes,

“The rest of us [marketers] that are out there in the trenches trying to educate and win business have to put up with this crap [referring to ATHF the marketing campaign]. Hours before this story broke we were sitting in the offices of a potential client talking about a WOM movement. Then we get back home and wonder if a stupid stunt like this will spook them from dipping their toe in the water.

This was the very definition of interruptive marketing. It wasn’t a conversation. It wasn’t listening. It was yelling. Old school “look over here” yelling. And we will all feel the repercussions for some time.

The only good that can come of this is an opportunity to have a conversation about these kind of tactics and help educate clients and marketers about this little thing called ethics and responsibility.

In the meantime, thanks, Interference. For nothing.”

I left a response to his post in the comments section on the BoF blog. I said,

“I’m going to strongly disagree with you. The fact is that the marketers were doing exactly what they were supposed to do, targeting their core audience. I know this because I am a marketer and a casual fan of the show. Their tactic, which was not meant as a bomb hoax, appeals to the viewers of the show.

I am willing to bet that if this irrational bomb scare hadn’t taken place, then marketers would be talking about how original the campaign was. They would be talking about how they put a new twist on guerrilla marketing.

And, Interference is not in the business of making other marketers look good. It’s in the business of generating publicity for its clients.

I love this country. It’s the greatest in the world. But America, or at least Boston’s government, has grown into a nation of frightened children. To me, it’s as simple as that.

That’s my two cents.”