The program, believe it or not, is hugely popular popular, particularly with that elusive young male demographic that advertisers covet. That's why Cartoon Network's corporate parent Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) decided to produce a movie titled Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. That was a smart business move. The problem the media conglomerate faced was how to promote a film that surely would be snubbed by most movie goers and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Enter, Interference Inc., a third-party marketing company specializing in what's called guerrilla marketing, which according to the company's website, "brings brand qualities and information directly to consumers in areas that they are not used to seeing advertising, therefore making a stronger imprint on the desired target."

The company -- which doesn't list Cartoon Network as a case study on its website -- thought that putting little black boards featuring LED lights in the image of the Moonites near roads, on bridge spans, and in subway stations would create would create a "buzz" among the movie's target demographic. That sure wasn't how things turned out.
The February stunt set off alarm bells in Boston and in the cable news world. At first, it looked like the cops uncovered a secret coded message being sent by Al-Qaeda. Imagine everyone's letdown when it was learned that it was just a stupid marketing stunt. The Boston cops were not amused. Time Warner and Interference eventually paid the city of Boston $2 million for its trouble and the head of the Cartoon Network resigned.

The jury is still out whether the stunt worked or not. The Aqua Teen movie only grossed a mere $5.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo, though it still brought Time Warner a decent profit because the picture only cost about $750,000 to produce. Much of the movie's profit will be made on DVD sales, which ought to cushion the blow caused by the negative publicity from the ill-advised marketing campaign.

So was this Cartoon Network PR stunt gone bad dumber than replacing lead-tainted Thomas the Tank Engine toys with more lead-tainted toys? Was it dumber than John Mackey's online forum masquerade? Dumber than Jet Blue stranding passengers for hours without food, water, or means of escape? Share the reasons for your pick of the dumbest business decision in the comments, or let us know about any contenders we overlooked. Also be sure to see the rest of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst of 2007.