Orange not confident in Apple fans; hires actors for iPhone launch

Orange, the carrier of the iPhone in Poland, is apparently not very confident that the iPhone will drum up big lines on this second iPhone launch today, August 22nd. It has decided to hire actors to stand in a line outside of 20 Orange stores, waiting for the iPhone, to “drum up interest.” Apparently, prospective buyers in Poland are reluctant to pay heavy monthly charges, and so Orange has opted to go the fake customer route.

I have a few questions: Do these actors stay in line all day, and let real customer get in front of them? If so, doesn’t that look really dodgy, and isn’t it kind of awkward to explain? “Yeah, this isn’t really a line, we’re just drumming up interest.” If people see a line of these people, won’t they just stand at the end of the line, which, if it’s not moving, could actually slow sales?

Just thinking out loud here, Orange…have you tried it?

Via [World of Apple]