IBM Pushes Mainstream Linux Acceptance With New Television Ad

by , 10:00 AM EDT, September 5th, 2003

In recent years, IBM has been one of the largest proponents of the Linux operating system, pushing its use and development as a leading server OS in its server line. IBM is so well known in its use and contributions that it drew the ire of SCO, which claims that IBM copied code from IBM's Unix distribution into Linux.

Sunday, September 7th during an NFL broadcast on the Fox network, IBM's commitment to Linux will be taken a step further. While some of IBM's previous commercials have referred to Linux, the commercial shown during the football broadcast will be the first one specifically focusing on Linux itself. From the Web site of IBM's "The Future is Open" campaign:

Linux is like nothing else in the history of computing, the most unique innovation operating systems have ever seen. It's unprecedented integration. It's an open source operating system. Owned by no single company or private enterprise. Constantly improved by thousands of programmers. And it's getting bigger. Last year, according to the IDC, shipments of servers running Linux increased by 22.8%.

If Linux were a person, he would be growing, fast. Taught by the best. Gaining wisdom beyond his years. And sharing. He would be in business, education, government and homes. He would be a nine-year-old boy changing the world.

You can watch the commercial at IBM's Web site in RealPlayer, QuickTime, or MPEG formats. IBM has also provided a transcript.

The Mac Observer Spin:

Interesting. IBM has mentioned Linux before in its TV spots, but only as a part of broader campaigns to advertise its servers. This new commercial is purely about Linux. Not Linux as a server OS, not Linux on the desktop, just Linux itself. It's not even specifically directed at the business market. Many people haven't heard of Linux, and IBM is trying to remedy that situation. If the commercial piques anyone's interest, it may lead them to look up Linux, what it is, and what it's about.

TMO regulars will know that we consider Linux success to be good for the Mac platform. Our position is that Apple benefits by being an alternative to Microsoft, instead of the alternative to Microsoft. With IBM putting some major advertising dollars into branding Linux, and making it seem to be the legit solution that it is, it can only help Apple's efforts to get people to think about solutions other than Microsoft. Accordingly, we are quite delighted with this new campaign.

IBM's