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He's a Mac, He's a PC, But We're Linux!
davidmwilliams writes "Earlier this year the Linux Foundation launched a competition for budding writers, film makers and just general Linux enthusiasts to make their own grassroots advertisement to compete with Apple's highly-successful 'I'm a Mac' series of adverts. The winner has now been announced."
http://www.getgnash.org/
Here's the old Linux ad by IBM. It's pretty cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwL0G9wK8j4
Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
Like the rude AC, I re-iterate more politely:
The winning ad doesn't copy either the Apple or Microsoft campaign styles. It's actually pretty good, except for the fact that it doesn't at all make clear WHAT linux is, but it might make some people interested enough to google it.
The problem with marketing Linux, or at least *Linux* people marketing Linux, is that they seem to think that your typical layperson will place value in the same things that a technical Linux user does.
What we have here is an overly-vague advert that places emphasis on it being "free and open" and "choices." A typical end-user does not care about these things. They want a complete, integrated product that works. Free and open means little if nothing to these people.
Where people advocating the wider adoption of Linux truly fail is in realizing what people want, and instead trying to tell them what they want and what they should place value in. What makes Linux so great for some people is what makes it less adoptable for most. The real question is, does your desire for wider Linux adoption trump your desire for an loosely coupled OS with little integration and many choices?
Similes are like metaphors
You should probably actually watch the video, once it stops being slashdotted. Or go to Youtube.
The winner isn't anything that would be recognized as a I'm a Mac/I'm a PC commercial rip off, or anything like what Microsoft made either. I'm not sure why this is styled an "I'm Linux" contest in the first place, almost none of the videos had anything to do with that (The only one that was even close and worth mentioning was the "I'm Not Linux" video series).
Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite (TM)
Since the Linux Foundation's site is getting hammered, here are links direct to youtube. I hope that I got the correct vids...feel free to correct me.
First place: What does it mean to be free
Second: The Origin
Third: Linux Pub
Other two finalists: The Future is Open
Challenges at the Office
Most hardware compatibility? Try installing it on anything but an x86, then get back to me.