Alleged Steve Jobs lookalike hawks Taiwanese tea

The real thing was obviously too expensive. Or, perhaps, just too difficult to work with.

So a Taiwanese drinks company decided to scour the world in search of an actor who looked just like Steve Jobs to advertise its Tong Yi Cha tea.

You must judge how well the company--a convenience store conglomerate--did. Does this man look like Steve Jobs? Or does he look like Steve who does the odd jobs at your mom's house?

You might, though, be temporarily moved by some of the method-acting that went into mimicking Jobs' physical mannerisms--the hands behind the back, the voice that packs conviction.

You might be wondering why this company thought that the Apple CEO might be a fine spokesperson for its tea. Well, this particular ad is a promotion in which you can win an iPad 2. Yes, every week.

So the creative team thought short and hard about how to dramatize that message, falling, in the end, for a re-creation of one of Jobs' famed San Francisco presentations.

Personally, I am disappointed that this spot, originally uploaded by blogger Dan Bloom, merely lasts 20 seconds. There was surely scope for a more fulsome performance from this actor.

There is the small possibility that Apple might also be disappointed, but for different reasons. Does anyone imagine that the company's lawyers might be less than fully amused by this, um, attempt at humor?