SonyEricsson is hiring "actors" to promote the new T68i phone in New York, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Posing as members of the public, the contract players will break into spontaneous celebration of their phones in front of tourist landmarks and in restaurants.

SonyEricsson deserves opprobrium not for its bold viral marketing campaign, but for its exploitation of an unfortunate social group. The real crime here is using folks suffering from compulsive attention deficiency disorder, known as "actors". Instead of encouraging them, SonyEricsson should be helping to integrate these poor souls back into society, using the latest medical advances. ®