Slashdot Log In
IBM's Upcoming Linux Ad Campaign
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Sat Mar 03, 2001 01:43 PM
from the with-the-torvalds-seal-of-approval dept.
from the with-the-torvalds-seal-of-approval dept.
Chris Soghoian writes: "According to a Wired News story,
IBM is going to feature Tux as part of it's 'Peace, Love & Linux' ad campaign. Apparently, the campaign is going to kick off with a 6-story Tux billboard in Times Square next week." I'm looking forward
to seeing the CG Tux TV ads.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
IBMs Upcoming Linux Ad Campaign
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 171 comments
(Spill at 50!) | Index Only
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Re:Credibility? What credibility? Sigh... (Score:3)
Don't be such a square, man.
--
I already got the bumper stickers (Score:5)
Still, they're very plain and non-detailed. There's no flower power feeling. In fact, the impression I get is more making fun of the sterotype of Linux hippies, especially on the one with Tux dwarfing the peace and love signs, kind of a manic celebration of the fact that yes, Linux was founded on the principles of sharing and goodwill, but it makes a damn good solid OS right now for your business.
Perhaps I'm reading too much into it
Still, the one with the big Tux is going on the car.
Why not sex, drugs and Linux? (Score:3)
You're right on the money (Score:4)
"No one has ever been fired for buying IBM, Intel, or Microsoft"
IBM's reputation standing behind Linux will have a profound effect on decisions made in the board room, especially combined with other factors:
It will effectively neutralize Microsoft's eternal strategy of ignoring the IT staff and concentrating on the managers to sell their products. Here IBM will offer, in the eyes of management, a serious comptetitor to Microsoft offerings, particularly in servers.
IBM will build upon support from administrators. Should decisionmakers have to choose between to viable solutions, the preference of the IT staff may actually be taken into account
Cost, cost, cost, and cost. Given two solutions, both backed by solid and reputable companies, management will tend to gravitate towards the cost effective one.
Overall, this ad campaign will do for Linux what IBM's adoption of MS-DOS did for Microsoft.
Re:Linux needs better hype (Score:3)
Linux doesn't have stock. Business who try a weak business model around selling a "free" OS and fail do not affect Linux in any way.
Finkployd
IBM Linux commercial (Score:5)
The way to win people over... Even me myself. (Score:3)
I figure some MS folks are on this site reading this as I smile because I'm happy to see IBMs move. The people at Microsoft do not understand that to win people over(like IBM is doing) is not by fighting and buying companies out. It's giving back to the people so they will love you for it.
Things are diffirent from the way it use to be. When you got a computer back in the old days it came with DOS of all forms. Now people that pay for a PC at Bestbuy and take it home don't know that MS is doing it not for them but only for themselfs. These people don't know that... they are blind and they don't see that there are hurting other companies. That's why I think it's good that IBM is making Linux ads.
A long time a go I didn't know of Linux, I was thinking MS as the way and the only way. There are people who never heard of Linux and from it being more a *nix makes it even better. People are able to do things that they wouldn't ever be able to do with Windows and at the same time don't have to pay for half of there server and develment tools that they will get for free. When there is a day where Microsoft plays fair that's when I'll be happy to boot up there goods. Into then Linux is the place to be...Why some may ask? It's the people that's making it better, MS don't know what we want... IBM do and there are about to start flashing the light in other people eyes. Thank you IBM and all there staff for supporting the backers of Linux right along with the Linux movement.
IBM should do a Linux distro! (Score:5)
First of all, an IBM Linux distro would become sorta like the "IBM PC" in that it would be a quasi-defacto standard that everyone rallies around, but IBM doesn't really control. This already happened with the PC. The GPL would ensure it further, and IBM's emphasis on being a *hardware* company would also help ensure it's impartiality even further. I believe IBM would be a good citizen with it's own Linux distro.
Secondly, IBM's good name would help it's acceptance with the PHB's
Finally, let's face it.... there's really only one company big enough to stand up to M$'s bullying and that's Big Blue. I'm sure some of the older OS/2 engineers at IBM don't need to be reminded about M$. Without any *major* competition, M$ will just do whatever they please. A very successful IBM Linux would keep them in line. M$ also has the advantage in that it has one standard API for developers to shoot for whereas there's still a bit of fragmentation with Linux with a variety of packages and little discrepancies. I really wouldn't mind a "defacto standard" Linux distro that an IBM could provide as long as it's GPL and open standards compliant. There would still always be specialized distros like Debian and Slackware.
Have you looked at the ads? (Score:3)
They are the ones making the decisions... (Score:5)
They aren't running the servers but they are the ones telling the server jockeys what to run. They are the CTOs, CIOs and CEOs. They are the ones who need to be convinced that "Linux is ready for the Enterprise" and who better to do that the the behemoth from their earlier years, IBM, the Microsoft of their generation
Re:Wonderful (Score:5)
--
Re:IBM should do a Linux distro! (Score:3)
chris
Surfing the net and other cliches...
No IBM Distro..Bad Idea.. (Score:4)
Besides, supporting multiple distros helps IBM market the product to fans of all the various distros, to join those companies in the IBM Partner Program, and to allow software for any of those distros to be easily ported from laptops to PC Servers, to Risc Boxes, to the AS/400 to the S/390. This helps them sell expensive hardware and keep old customers by having massive amounts of software for those systems.
Licensing schemes of IBM mainframes are annual payments for each software application or tool based on the CPU size of your mainframe. Therefore, UNIX competitors have been pulling away market share by writing applications to take over sub-tasks of the large mainframe applications, hence reducing the mainframe software licensing fees significantly. For example, a PKZIP utility for our OS/390 Mainframe costs $10,000 a year to use.
--Matthew
asdf (Score:3)
strong 1960s-style psychedelic graphics -- a heart and a peace symbol along with Tux -- to appeal to ex-hippie baby boomers, whom IBM hopes will find the idea of a free, community-developed operating system appealing,
I wonder: the analogy to the 1960s may work, but should ex-hippies really be the target audience? Are they the ones running all the servers nowadays?
--------------------------------
Re:Why not sex, drugs and Linux? (Score:3)
--------------------------------
Wonderful (Score:5)
That will go a long way to getting rid of the "hippy" stereotype that comes with GNU/Linux.
Link to the online IBM ad (Score:5)