First iPhone buyer an ADVERTISING PLANT?

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da5id

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#23957 11-Jul-2008 18:04

I think I just heard on prime News that the first guy through the door to buy an iPhone was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.
LOL, too funny...

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#146924 11-Jul-2008 18:13

da5id: I think I just heard on prime News that the first guy through the door to buy an iPhone was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.
LOL, too funny...

http://jonny.yellowpagesgroup.co.nz

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JoeBloggs

355 posts

Ultimate Geek

#146927 11-Jul-2008 18:18

So that story about his friends buying him the iphone was a load of bull? Just tell me Vodafone didn't somehow put him up to it.

robbypreb

131 posts

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#146931 11-Jul-2008 18:20

da5id: I think I just heard on prime News that the first guy through the door to buy an iPhone was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.
LOL, too funny...

Wouldn't surprise me. Companies like this love to deceive the public.

da5id

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#146933 11-Jul-2008 18:23

manhinli:
da5id: I think I just heard on prime News that the first guy through the door to buy an iPhone was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.
LOL, too funny...

http://jonny.yellowpagesgroup.co.nz

Hah! Thanks for the link. You know, I've had that picture staring me in the face in a newspaper on the table tonight and didn't even realize what it was for. Just saw a pic of a guy sitting on a chair and thoguht it was a silly ad.
Guess their advertising didn't pay off - not with regard to me anyway.

tripp

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#146952 11-Jul-2008 19:03

Ha i knew it, no one would line up 3 days before hand, i would not be surprised if vodafone had a hand in it as well.

ahmad

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#146962 11-Jul-2008 20:22

"Jonny Gladwell queued for three days and three nights for the chance to be the first person in the world to buy 'that Phone'. But thanks to the support of Auckland businesses he found on Yellow™, he didn’t exactly slum it. He had a brilliant time. Even more brilliant is the fact he’s giving you the chance to win his phone (don’t worry, we got him another one)."

All a bit cynical really. The site (to me) is trying to suggest that he queued and used Yellow to look for help. Or do you think that Yellow was behind it from the beginning??

What happened to the "flatmates dared me and will pay for it" official press line?

I'm sure the truth will be well hidden though!!

Pernod

52 posts

Master Geek

#146969 11-Jul-2008 21:10

From the digging I have done, he was a genuine guy with a smart idea...

He lined up, and then made calls to local the media explaining he would be the first person in the world for an iPhone... he then somehow started to get 'help' from local businesses in the hope that it would earn them some primetime space in all the media interest he had fielded.

100% genuine, and very cleaver - something to bear in mind for future world wide launches of products (that is if your a student who can spare 3 days without working)

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ahmad

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#146974 11-Jul-2008 21:32

What digging was done if you can divulge any of it - and where does Yellow come into the picture?

johnr

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#146978 11-Jul-2008 21:49

da5id: I think I just heard on prime News that the first guy through the door to buy an iPhone was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.
LOL, too funny...

%100 rubbish

Pernod

52 posts

Master Geek

#146982 11-Jul-2008 21:58

What digging have I done...? (oh I love the internets 'photos or it didn't happen' approach to life)

I've been talking to some key contacts back home in NZ about the guy... (I'm UK based these days). Its hardly a 'critical news item' so as for taking my word on this you can take it or leave it - I'll leave that up to you :-)

Yellows involvement is sketchy... but my 2c worth (pure speculation this part) is that he just found local businesses in the yellow pages to approach for 'support'

ahmad

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#146983 11-Jul-2008 22:02

Sorry I was just curious. I didn't mean to question you. Anyone can anything so just wanted to know on what basis the comments were made.

I'm still not entirely convinced this wasn't set up from the beginning.

My peeve is that the initial party line was "my mates dared me and they will pay for it", and now it's "Jonny's giving his iPhone away but we are going to buy one for him".

da5id

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#146994 11-Jul-2008 22:45

johnr:
da5id: I think I just heard on prime News that the first guy through the door to buy an iPhone was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.
LOL, too funny...

%100 rubbish

Just repeating what they said on the news: don't shoot the messenger...
They said he was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.

Pernod

52 posts

Master Geek

#147005 11-Jul-2008 23:58

whoops - last reply came across a bit harsh (doing to things at once).

From what I can gather, the 'win the phone and we'll buy him another' is an opportunistic marketing ploy thats popped up after the event... (and I imagine he's been paid well for it).

While he wasn't an advertising plant initially, hes attracted enough interest to get advertisers scrambing to get some of the action.

I still think it's a genious approach to making the most out NZ's location when it comes to world wide product releases :-)

robbyp

1199 posts

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#147101 12-Jul-2008 13:05

da5id:
johnr:
da5id: I think I just heard on prime News that the first guy through the door to buy an iPhone was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.
LOL, too funny...

%100 rubbish

Just repeating what they said on the news: don't shoot the messenger...
They said he was an advertising plant and wouldn't even get to use the phone.

Apparently he was either a Yellowpages Group employee, or an actor paid by Yellowpages Group to sit in line. Pretty cheap advertising stunt, but if I was sitting in line I would have felt ripped off, especially if I was second in line. That a company such as the Canadian owned Yellow pages could rip off guenine NZers in the line, by claiming to be the first iphone buyer, when they apparently weren't a real customer at all.

ahmad

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#147123 12-Jul-2008 13:46

Definitely cheapens it for me, and it doesn't put "Yellow" into my good books.

Viral advertising is cool when it is done well, but this is one of those virii that you want to get rid of asap.

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