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The terrrr-rists have won. Maybe.

Residents of a Michigan town thought their lives were in peril after promotional materials for a movie prompted evacuations last week.

Marketing geniuses for Acura, which has a huge presence as vehicles for S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Comic superhero movie “Thor,” presently blowing up box offices world wide, decided it was a great idea to plant briefcase-like boxes, with the word ‘detonation’ printed on them, around town. Inside the boxes were toggles, switches and liquid. 

Reports the AV Club: [a passerby found one of the boxes in a recycling bin and] they reported it to police who, despite seeing the words “Thor” and “Acura” stamped plainly all over its exterior and interior, and the fact that it was clearly made of cardboard and cheap plastic, began diverting traffic away from the box, and brought in FBI and ATF agents, U.S. Marshalls, and Kevlar-suited technicians to examine it—a reaction instigated, in part, by a bomb threat that coincidentally had been called into a bus station down the street.”

This screw up reminded us of a few other marketing fails, some of them are found after the break.

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Aqua Teen Hunger Force: 

In 2007, LED characters depicting the cartoon alien Ignignokt prompted a bomb scare in Boston, forcing the city to shut down a highway. Bomb squads removed the devices from buildings and bridges, Turner Broadcasting Network was forced to apologize.

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Ashanti took her label name seriously in 2008. The Murder, Inc. singer and her marketing manager thought it would be awesome to send out fake missing person emails in support of her new single, “The Way That I Love You.” 

When the recipient opened the email they read this: “Do you know the person pictured in the following video,” it read. “If so, please contact me immediately. Your life might be in danger.” The sender was a Detective James Nicholas, Director of Crime Prevention for the Universal Crime Network.

When they clicked the link they saw their name written in blood and a video. 

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In 2008, real “Sarah Marshalls” across the U.S. were livid after the Judd Apatow-directed film by the same title released promotional materials belittling the character’s physical features. Posters like the one above inspired anger and disbelief and left theater seats empty.
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Marketing execs at 20th Century Fox swallowed a bunch of lazy pills and released lame posters of “X-Men: First Class,” the prequel to Marvel Comics mutant powered franchise. Fans were so disgruntled, they created their own better looking, better designed posters very unlike the one above.