Samsung Caught in the Act!
At both Mobile World Congress 2011 and International CTIA WIRELESS 2011, Samsung showed a video of the "Samsung Galaxy Tab Interview Project" featuring what it claimed to be real people -- an old woman gardening, a hip performer, a freelance travel writer -- who all turned out to be (gasp!) paid actors.
Samsung's public relations director, who also happens to be an actor (but in his spare time), introduced the video as made up of consumers from a variety of backgrounds that Samsung chose to test out the device with, but tech blog Technologizer later uncovered their true identities.
In the same CTIA presentation, Samsung also got applause when it proclaimed the latest Tab to be slimmer than the iPad. But, Fritz Nelson, editorial director at our sister site InformationWeek , proved that to be a fib as well.
Samsung's approach of using actors is probably pretty standard in any industry, and -- let's be honest -- we've all lied about how thin we are before, but the blatant lies around the Galaxy Tab smell a little like desperation to me.
Maybe Samsung should redeem itself with a video featuring actual consumers sharing their real-life experiences. It can't be more awkward than what we've already seen (below).
— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile
I have a friend that's an actress and companies pay her to speak at trade shows as if she's part of their company. After, she tells people to direct questions to the sales people then disappears. Makes you wonder, are all attractive people at trade shows just actors? (Although, I can't think of any examples right now in the wireless industry...)