[wplug] Hate-on Linux TV ads

[Henry Umansky]

I kinda enjoyed the commercial.  It was very Kubrick-meets-Spielberg-esque 
and throw in the look-alike kid from AI/"I see dead people" and BAM, you 
have a commercial.  Oh and for a little extra flavoring, throw in some 
famous people.

-Henry

--On Friday, September 05, 2003 6:27 AM -0400 David Ostroske 
<eksortso at linuxmail.org> wrote:r

> There's a new TV ad campaign by IBM, strictly promoting Linux. It will
> get its start on Sunday during the 1-pm NFL football game.
>
> Here's the site:
> http://www.ibm.com/open
>
> Pretty slick, lots of celebrities. Not at all what I expected a Linux ad
> campaign to be like. Lots of feel-good shmoo language, but no real
> flavor.
>
> I'm replaying in my head the "if they made TV ads for Linux, what would
> they look like?" thread from forums I used to frequent five years ago.
> Frankly, I'm disgusted with what they ended up making.
>
> I know that IBM is a major contributor to the kernel's development, and
> that they and many other firms are thriving on Linux. I'm glad that they
> see Linux and open source as promotion-worthy!
>
> But where's the credit that's due? Couldn't they mix in some of the
> developers who worked to bring this kid to life?
>
> Or its uses? Couldn't IBM bring in some of their clients to sing Linux's
> praises?
>
> And if the kid's so smart, how come he don't say nothing?!
>
> There is nothing to be proud of in this antiseptic piece of drudgery!
> IBM's ad agency could just as well have shot footage of a tape reel
> rewinding. At least their basketball ads from a couple of years back
> showed some enthusiasm! ("Why's he play for free?" "Because *he loves
> the game!*")
>
> What do you all think? Am I wrong?
> --
> --- David Ostroske
>     eksortso at linuxmail.org
>
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Henry Umansky
University of Pittsburgh
Computing Services and Systems Development
hmust2 [at] pitt [dot] edu
(412) 624 -4357