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.

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

37 Comments

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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.
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- Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:08am
  
  Re: Auditions
  Seconded.
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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]
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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?
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- CA, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:26am
  
  Re: Marketing
  Can't you people in Cupertino come up with something better than this?
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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.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 7:44am

I thought from the headline Orange was paying celebrities to stand in line. That might have worked.
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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.
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- 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.
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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.
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- 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
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- 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
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  - 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....
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  - 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.
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  - 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!
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  - 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!!
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  - 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
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    - 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)
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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/
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 8:21am

iphone = over priced gizmo!
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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.
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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.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:15am

The iPhone is a "fashionable" Blackberry with a touch screen. Nothing more.
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- 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..?
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  - 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.
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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).
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- Anonymous Coward, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:18am
  
  Re: Apple's major strength.
  Seconded, they made it a fashion accessory.
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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.
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- 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.
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Jake, 22 Aug 2008 @ 9:21am

Hate to disillusion you on this point, but trust me, disco is not yet quite dead.
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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.
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- 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
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  - 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
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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. :-)
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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...
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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.
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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?
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