Fake Steve Jobs in Taiwan

[Cola]

Just got to relay this, it's hilarious comment from overseas on this brewhaha: underscores for emphasis: via The Honey Badger in USA:

"Steve Jobs" pitches tea via iPad2 giveaway

Taiwanese advertising companies are like the Honey Badger, they don’t give a sh*t. The one that hired an expat to play Steve Jobs in a commercial to sell bottled tea is spreading across the internet. It’s making news because the Taiwanese DARED to impersonate Steve “revolutionary” Jobs. The advertising company working for Taiwan-based beverage company Uni-President is not afraid of Jobs’ Cupertino posse or receiving an aero-postal cease and desist love letter. Tong Yi Cha just wants to boost sales and spread the iPad love -no great satirical statement beyond that.

In the TV ad, fake Steve Jobs (no, not the real “Fake Steve Jobs) gives a press conference to promote an iPad2 giveaway. He informs the crowd that the more tea drinks you buy the better chance you have of winning one of their weekly i-giveaways.

The Steve Jobs lookalike, in black crew neck and saggy faded jeans says, “You don’t need to be jealous of any iPad2 owners anymore because, if you purchase any Tong-Yi-Cha you can win an iPad2 every week.”

Seeing as how Apple is cracking down on marketers that use Apple products as their giveaway in the U.S., it will be interesting to see how the cellphone giant treats the Taiwanese marketer. Taiwan is the homeland of most the factory owners that operate the Chinese factories where legit Apple products are manufactured.

Is it stretching too far to find something ironic about this? Whatever. The Honey Badger don’t care.

Note: [You know something that isn't here? Email us at tips [-at~] hollywoodstarshoney .d.o.t. com]

[Cola]

and last one, this link shows just how far this BREWHAHA has gone, with even the Hollywood gossip rag PerezHilton.com doing a post that has gone viral too:

http://perezhilton.com/2011-07-08-steve ... commercial

[Cola]

Three weeks later after all this was discussed here at Forumosa and blogged in Taipei and ''all over the blogsphere'', smart (but way behind the curve) Boing Boing brings up the Steve Jobs
story AS IF Xeni Jardin discovered it herself, when in fact the news is 21 days old and older already. and yet she blogs it like she and Andy Ihnatko in Chicago ''discovered'' this
meme. See links here: WAY LATE but better latte than never, as they say at Starbux:

''Steve Jobs shills green tea and Sony hardware in Taiwan''
Posted by Xeni Jardin on Wednesday, Jul 27

http://boingboing.net/2011/07/27/steve- ... aiwan.html

http://laorencha.blogspot.com/2011/07/f ... -jobs.html

Meanwhile, most observers feel the model playing Jobs is not in Taiwan but in either HK or California and was a professioanl hired gun, not a cram school teacher
in Taiwan as Cruella Blogger in Taipei posts in a condescending way here on her blog:

''I just wonder who the guy is (clearly it's not Steve Jobs). My guess: some indigent kids' cram school teacher doing at job at age 45 that really better suits a 21-year-old, who was happy to get the NT$3000 they paid him to model.
Was that mean?
Sorry. I guess I'm feeling mean today.''

JACK opined to Xeni at BB: "I know that isn’t Steve Jobs, but whoever he is he has clearly cornered a very lucrative ex-pat market in Taiwain: White guy who kinda looks like someone else! ''


Translation of the Chinese on the ad:
''Buy TongYi tea products today
Sony Bloggie free every day
Weekly iPad draw''

PS: if the FAKE STEVE JOBS in the TV ad lived in Taipei, APPLE DAILY and TVBS would already have discovered (er, exposed) him. They didn't. So it is safe to assume
that this actor model lives overseas in HK or LA. Not a English teacher here as cynical Cruella says above.

[the bear]

I know that guy as do loads of people on this site...he's a fairly well-known actor/model/dancer if you move in those circles in Taipei. Has put on a coupla broadway-type shows here. Good on him for getting his 15 minutes of "fame".

[Cola]

Good on ya, mate.....bear, for dishing on that.....who knew? you knew and so did others here.......but did you wait so long? cool.......is his name publishable or public
or does he wish to remain anon for privacy reasons? hints? clues? links to his website? he is a global hero now, does he KNOW that? cool

[the bear]

Good on ya, mate.....bear, for dishing on that.....who knew? you knew and so did others here.......but did you wait so long? cool.......is his name publishable or public
or does he wish to remain anon for privacy reasons? hints? clues? links to his website? he is a global hero now, does he KNOW that? cool

I can't out him here, you know the rules.

[Cola]

yes yes, the bear, knows the rules yeh.....but this is such a good story, for him too, worldwide fame, not just 15 minutes but a long time, this ad has gone viral
worldwide, even in Germany and France, India too....... so this is a good opp for him, but yes privacy respected at all times...is there anyway to contact him privately and ask him if he would be willing to go public with name, but completely on his own terms?

[Cola]

Bear, re "I....that guy ....is.......a fairly well-known actor/model/dancer if you move in those circles in Taipei. Has put on a coupla broadway-type shows here. Good on him for getting his 15 minutes of "fame".''

That puts Cruella's rather "mean" put down of male teachers here in a new light: ''I just wonder who the guy is (clearly it's not Steve Jobs). My guess: some indigent kids' cram school teacher doing at job at age 45 that really better suits a 21-year-old, who was happy to get the $3000 they paid him to model.
Was that mean?
Sorry. I guess I'm feeling mean today. ''

[the bear]

Bear, re "I....that guy ....is.......a fairly well-known actor/model/dancer if you move in those circles in Taipei. Has put on a coupla broadway-type shows here. Good on him for getting his 15 minutes of "fame".''

That puts Cruella's rather "mean" put down of male teachers here in a new light: ''I just wonder who the guy is (clearly it's not Steve Jobs). My guess: some indigent kids' cram school teacher doing at job at age 45 that really better suits a 21-year-old, who was happy to get the $3000 they paid him to model.
Was that mean?
Sorry. I guess I'm feeling mean today. ''

Well people shouldn't be so keen to shit on any big nose that gets a break.....the description above couldn't be further from the truth. This is a guy who has done everything possible to make it here in his chosen profession(s). He might have taught a few kids classes along the way to pay the rent but who hasn't?

I would imagine he got a lot more than 3000. Hell I once got 10,000 for playing the bongos for 10 minutes at a bikini fashion show.

[Cola]

The Bear, a friend of mine who is a reporter for the an online tech unit in Canada wants to find the
"Taiwanese Steve Jobs" in this TV ad, and said that if the actor does not want his name used, he will respect that and keep the name out of his
article about this video that has gone global and viral. I told him I also do not know the man's name, but that I would try to track him down discreetly
or is that discretely, can never remember spellling tricks in English, and if this actor wants to go public with his acting gig, cool, and if he prefers to remain anon, taht's cool too and the website will respect that. Thing is, this is a great chance for Mr X to build his brand, not only in Taiwan, but worldwide. Maybe he has moved on and does
not even care about the advert anymore, and he did the gig, got paid and is busy with his daily life now, and maybe is not a tech geek so doesn't care about this
entire viral vid thing. and that's cool, too, if he doesn't care. It is a trivial thing, for sure. But outside Taiwan, millions of Jobs fans and Jobs anti-fans want to know who this fake steve jobs is and HOW the TV and or ad firm found him, because the chances the odds of finding someone who looks so much like Jobs is amazing.... i bet even Jobs would be amazed......So any idea of how to contact Mr X discreetly and getting feedback frm him? Does he ever visit this board?

What's also interesting is that for a video that has romped up over 185,000 hits worldwide, the local papers from Taipei Times to China Post to Apple Daily to TVBS News don't seem interested in this WHO IS IT story? They care more about Kuso Cat and Red Devils bopping Green Damsenls at the Taipei museum and Jolin Tsai and Jay Chou than this jobs story. I guess it's not a sexy story. Anyway, the bear, if you have any way to contact Mr X and then have him lv contact info here, IF HE WANTS AND ONLY HE WANTS TO.... then dish.....

Just curious, that's all. seems like a good, clean story......and more than 15 minutes of fame for Mr X. This could jump start his career worldwide, IF he is interested. But maybe he has moved on. I don't blame him if he has...