As an actor I have to declare bull!
As for Apple using "real people". I've been on plenty of auditions for "real people". They ask you what else you do besides acting and that goes down as your sole profession. I would bet everything I own that the iPhone ads are indeed actors.
Well...it would be a decent bet...but ultimately you would lose.
Having worked on various previous iPod/iPhone spots I can tell you for a fact:
- They always use a fake project name (NEVER Apple or iPod)
- While they do sometimes interview/audition actors they also use a lot of casting companies that specialize in "real people" casting
- If it is a dancing (iPod) spot they call for "people who can move"
- If it is an interview spot (iPhone) the only real condition is that you own an iPhone and are not connected to Apple or the ad agency (though being a friend of the grandchild of Errol Morris obviously doesn't hurt right Ellen?)
While it is possible that a "real people" casting company may have posted that Craig's List ad...they would have been fired immediately from the spot for violating the NDAs they all have to sign upon being hired.
So that is that.