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I'm Linux video - Better than I'm a Mac, you're a PC?

By Sean Michael Kerner on December 22, 2008 9:09 AM

From the "what would John Hodgman say" files:

For the most part, Linux has always lacked good marketing (except perhaps for some great stuff from IBM a few years ago..). The gold standard in operating system ads now seems to be the I'm a MAC you're a PC ads - and so the Linux Foundation is now kicking off an effort to 'mimic them' for Linux.

According to a blog post from the Linux Foundation:

While the Linux Foundation would love to spend millions promoting Linux on TV, it's simply not our style (or in our budget). Even more importantly, Linux isn't a top-down, commercially controlled operating system. It's a grassroots product of mass collaboration. That's why we're sponsoring a community contest to create a Linux video that showcases just what Linux means to those who use it, and hopefully inspires many to try it.

Certainly this is a good idea for Linux and one that could unleash a torrent of creativity. Creating a copycat I'm a Linux campaign is both good and bad - bad in that it's a copy (as opposed to being unique), good in that it's a copy of a campaign that's well known.

The open source community itself has other examples of community driven video campaigns - my favorite to this day remains the Mozilla Firefox effort of a few years back to get Firefox. Just for a good Monday laugh I've embedded my fav spot from that effort below. Let's hope the new Linux effort produces something as memorable.