PR misfire

'MI:3' promo resembles bomb

By STEVEN ZEITCHIK

L.A. Times readers were almost blown away -- literally -- when they went to vending machines to buy a paper and found a scary "MI:3" promo.

No, Tom Cruise hadn't jumped on top of the newsboxes. Instead, customers found themselves eyeballing a contraption with loose wires. It was a songbox designed to play the "M:I" theme. L.A. Sheriffs blew up one of the machines, thinking it a possible bomb.

Par also took out spots during the NHL and NBA playoffs that intersperse pic footage with game highlights.

The NHL's New York Rangers ran a TV ad that turned a series against the New Jersey Devils into its own high-voltage Cruise-fest. But when the Rangers were swept in four games, the spot became a joke about a different kind of impossible mission.