Sony Ericsson are reported to have hired 'attractive young actors and actresses' to go around various towns and cities, posing as normal young folk, asking ordinary members of the public to take their photgraohs with a SontEricsson T68i mobile phone....

This has drawn criticism from some quarters, but it simply takes one step further a basic principle of marketing - word of mouth is far more valuable than people may initially think.

I know of at least one, probably two and maybe three people who will buy a Nokia 9210 or 9210i simply because they happened to see me using mine, whether in work, at the local KFC or while out, having a laugh with my friends. While I'm not stupid enough to hand it over to a complete stranger 'for them to have a go', once they get to see one in the real world, they can see how powerful a device it is.

I remember when I had a PocketPC. I could show people the video and the games and that impressed them, but they couldn't see how that could apply to them - I was a geek and they weren't.

However, With the 9210, I could show them real things that could help them; a useful calendar, contacts book, e-mail and fax and SMS viewer/editor (and now with games like Rayman, even more!). This is the kind of functionality that people want, functionality they can envisage themselves using, functionality with which they can identify.

So, what's with this 'will you take out picture' business of SonyEricsson? This is just allowing Joe Public to see the technology in use, to actually use it themselves and see that it's something they could use, they could find helpful and they could have fun with.

No gimmicks. No empty promises. No lies. No www.pocketpc.com for a list of new functionality that's actually been around for years.

What do you think? Is this kind of advertising deceitful?
Is it morally questionable?
Is it effective?
Have you persuaded a person's purchase simply by showing them real life application as opposed to (Microsoft) corporate spin?