Orange Pays Actors To Stand In Line For The iPhone

from the losing-its-magic? dept

Fri, Aug 22nd 2008 6:04am — Mike Masnick

When the disco era was dying, the story was that the famed Studio 54 in New York had to start paying people to stand out front in line, so that it still look the club was still a happening place. Is the same thing happening with the iPhone? Over in Poland, mobile operator Orange is happily admitting that it's paying actors to stand in line to wait for the launch of the new iPhone: "We have these fake queues at front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone." That seems like a rather blatant admission that the phone itself isn't enough to drum up interest. Somehow, though, I don't think the iPhone is going the route of disco just yet.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: actors, iphone, lines, poland
Companies: apple, orange

37 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased), 22 Aug 2008 @ 6:38am

Auditions
I am sure the auditions were rigorous. Jobs is pretty picky. Props to anyone who comes up with a good pollack joke on this.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:08am

Re: Auditions
Seconded.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anthony Carlos, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:09am

First time this has ever happened?
Is this the first time this has happened, or the first time they got caught?

[Bracing for the pile on from all the Apple® trolls]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Yeah another AC, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:14am

Marketing
Hey at least they are trying, sometimes this crap works, sometimes it doesnt.

How many Pollocks does it take to turn on an iPhone anyway?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
CA, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:26am

Re: Marketing
Can't you people in Cupertino come up with something better than this?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:35am

Orange Business Services is one of the worst service providers there is! I have worked with them through an American ISP I worked for.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:44am

I thought from the headline Orange was paying celebrities to stand in line. That might have worked.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:57am

How can you make a pollock joke over this? This proves the Polish comsumer is smarter than the American consumer, not to fall for the hype of a crappy bug ridden phone.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:01am

Its time . . .
for iPhone owners to admit that thier love of this device has no more to do with technology then thier love of Jordache jeans and Members Only jackets did in the 80s. Its a fashion accessory and really nothing more.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:07am

Marketing firms have been pulling this type of stunt for years!! Sometimes they just pay people to walk around with product and talk loudly about how much they love it, etc...

http://www.thecorporation.com/
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Cody88, 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:09am

Re: Its time . . .
Yeah, the 'Polish joke' is the fact that all the dunbmasses over here fell for all the hype and they didn't
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jack, 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:14am

Re: Its time . . .
obviously if u think its just a fashion statement u have never used one of these phones it has advanced every part of the cell phone and mp3 player/ipod let me list a few of the ways
touch screen
mobile internet
moblie email
phone computer compatiability
mobile computing
music phones
and there are tons more
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:21am

iphone = over priced gizmo!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
BD, 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:31am

Re: Re: Its time . . .
Next time jack, try not to sound so much like an Apple marketing troll, even with the “u think” to make yourself sound unintelligent.

Then again, maybe you are seeing that you've bought into the hype....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased), 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:55am

How many...
S.Jobs: How many actors does it take to sell a Pollock an iPhone?

Innocent, market-going, Pollack, bystander: Uh, I don't know? I'm just here to buy a couple of chickens and a gourd.

S.Jobs: Here's fifty bucks? Go stand in line and find out.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Unidentifiable individual, 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:57am

Waiting for the, you people are just Haters, blah... blah..., like it's wrong to have a dissenting opinion.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:15am

The iPhone is a "fashionable" Blackberry with a touch screen. Nothing more.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Mogilny, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:16am

Apple's major strength.
Products are not apple's strength. It is its ability to make people think they want their products (a.k.a good PR and advertisement).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:18am

Re: Apple's major strength.
Seconded, they made it a fashion accessory.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Not American, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:20am

Reading many of the comments makes me realize why Americans are among the most despised people on the planet. What a sorry bunch of Neanderthals some of you are.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jake, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:21am

Hate to disillusion you on this point, but trust me, disco is not yet quite dead.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:25am

Re: Re: Its time . . .
Its just a phone. A lot of other phones have all the features you listed and more (such as free applications that you can install without needing to hack the device). Its nothing special. Get over it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
NH, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:29am

Hype
To all those elitist haters who seem to feel they are far more clever than the rest of us becuase they have not bought into the hype... Just remember marketing only ever goes so far. If no one genuinely wants it, it will not be bought.

I have an IPhone because I want one - what it does suits what I want from a phone, the same reason I got a N95 before. I did not want the first one because it was not 3G - no amount of marketing would have changed that.

And no I did not pay for it, free on my call plan.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
AC, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:50am

Re: Hype
Or, you could just be one of those Apple marketing shills, paid to comment like those actors standing in line
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:56am

Re:
How can you make a pollock joke over this? This proves the Polish comsumer is smarter than the American consumer, not to fall for the hype of a crappy bug ridden phone.

It could be chalked up in a series of advertisements- "A Sale About Nothing", "No Phone For YOU!", followed up with "There Was Line Shrinkage!" All of course, Starring Jerry Seinfeld.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:59am

Re:
The iPhone is a "fashionable" Blackberry with a touch screen. Nothing more.

Have to disagree with you on that one. It's a full fledged OSX kernel with a trimmed-down UI/Shell.

That's why there's over 1000 apps available for in within 30 days. How many does Blackberry have after, what 7 years..?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I'm_Polish, 22 Aug 2008 @ 10:16am

No big deal
iPhone is just not that big of a deal in Poland, especially, since 3G functionality and high end smart phones are a norm in Poland and in Europe in general... Orange knows that and gives this phone practically for free... $ 1.0... with some plans.
You don't have that in US. :-)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
bubba, 22 Aug 2008 @ 10:58am

maybe
Poles have stood in enough lines in their lives already? Maybe they see the luxury of not standing in a line now...

A pollock is in a bar and he says, hey check out my new Iphone.
The bartender says, what are you an American?
The pollock, says, naah but I got his passport too...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
James, 22 Aug 2008 @ 11:28am

Cute toy
Pffft... the iPhone is a cute toy which also happens to make calls and surf the web... lets the brainless enjoy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Spectere, 22 Aug 2008 @ 3:34pm

Re: Re:
That's why there's over 1000 apps available for in within 30 days. How many does Blackberry have after, what 7 years..?

The BlackBerry can run mobile Java applications without forcing users to jump through hoops so, uh, quite a few. You can also develop Java applications without being squelched by an overbearing NDA.

I'm not saying that the iPhone is bad, per se, but Apple could certainly do a better job in keeping their independent developers happy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Spectere, 22 Aug 2008 @ 3:35pm

Re: Re: Its time . . .
So, touch screen aside, it can do everything that my cheap Motorola phone can do.

Man, my phone must be freaking sweet!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 6:34pm

Re: Re: Its time . . .
Well, let me respond to your ummmm...great examples of iPhone superiority.

touch screen - This one I'll give you. The iPhone has the best touch screen I have used yet on a mobile phone.

mobile internet - Doesn't even support flash or Java, try again.

moblie email - How long did it take Apple to add support for corporate e-mail?

phone computer compatiability - Really? that's funny cause my cell phone lets me transfer files via bluetooth, how's the iPhone leading the way on this? Oh and my phone can sync with my calendar via bluetooth as well.

mobile computing - limiting developers to one store, and telling them there is a list of things they can't do is not leading the way in mobile computing, it is taking a step backwards. Phones with built in J2ME or Full Java support have many more apps available to them, many of which are free.

music phones - I have a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones for my cellphone, got any that will work with your iPhone? I can also add music by transfering via bluetooth, putting another memory card in, downloading via Mobile Web, or if I really want to go old school, I could use a USB cable for it (and mine doesn't have to be a proprietary USB cable either).

and there are tons more - perhaps you should list them, as I have debunked all but one of your examples? And I hope you really enjoy your iPhone in a year when your battery won't hod a charge any longer. I'll pay $20 for a new battery, how much will you pay for a new iPhone? Ohhh you can't get one yet your still in a 2 year contract. Enjoy!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Azrael, 23 Aug 2008 @ 12:42pm

Re: Re: Its time . . .
touch screen done before by Palm
mobile internet done before by Palm
"moblie" email done before by Palm
phone computer "compatiability" done before by Palm
mobile computing done before by Palm
music phones done before by Nokia
and there is nothing more
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Azrael, 23 Aug 2008 @ 12:48pm

Re:
Sorry to contradict you but the Neanderthaliens were hard working , no frills people. If you want a more appropriate comparison try feces throwing monkees.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Aug 2008 @ 6:47am

Re: Re: Re: Its time . . .
"touch screen done before by Palm
mobile internet done before by Palm
"moblie" email done before by Palm
phone computer "compatiability" done before by Palm
mobile computing done before by Palm "

And wasnt Palm founded by Apple engineers who left after thier PDA project (and handwriting recognition platform) was canceled in the mid 90s (the Newton I think?). Apple did have a founding genius, his name was WAZ! (sadly they are just a marketing company now)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Aug 2008 @ 6:49am

Re: Re: Hype
"Or, you could just be one of those Apple marketing shills, paid to comment like those actors standing in line"

I like how he goes on about "wanting an iPhone" but then in the end explains how it didnt cost him anything LOL.
That is a decent value proposition certainly . . . LMAO
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Clueby4, 25 Aug 2008 @ 5:48pm

Touchscreen was a PURCHASED innovation
Apple didn't innovate the touchscreen it was purchased from Fingerworks. Additionally, they haven't even matched what Fingerworks offered. Where's the gesture support, what the NDA got your tongue?
[ link to this | view in thread ]