WHAT LINUX NEEDS - advertise campain like this one!

[RaverWild]

Hello, this is what linux needs:

Advertise campain showing to ordinary people how ordinary people use linux and easily can do cool things.

Also what Microsoft does in this campain must be beaten off - in the mind of the mass consumer they associate the abbreviation PC with Windows.

The ads are very well done. Take a look:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/watchtheads/

I think all major linux companies must take a note. PC is not Windows damn it.

PS: I am talking about the Rookie advertise clips. These rocks! Linux needs videos like these.

[Bölvaður]

google for the advertisement competition the linux foundation had.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Hello, this is what linux needs:

Advertise campain showing to ordinary people how ordinary people use linux and easily can do cool things.

Also what Microsoft does in this campain must be beaten off - in the mind of the mass consumer they associate the abbreviation PC with Windows.

The ads are very well done. Take a look:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/watchtheads/

I think all major linux companies must take a note. PC is not Windows damn it.

PS: I am talking about the Rookie advertise clips. These rocks! Linux needs videos like these.

Needs silverlight, besides screw MS

[Viva]

Linux needs Windows power users. Most normal users don't actually maintain their system or care about what they are using as long as it works. The middle men or power users usually do the maintenance of computers in their family or community. They are like knights in the medieval world, strong and often more powerful than the ruler himself. But they also have a big ego and are scared about losing their power user status. It is important to turn them in our favour one way or the other, Mozilla did this and gained a strong market share in the browser market.

[RaverWild]

SunnyRabbiera, noone cares what me and you are thinking. Everybody cares what the mass is thinking. And the mass starts to like even more Microsoft:

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=136731

Bölvaður, i saw some of the linux ads. They are pretty artistic and geeky and not so convincing as Microsoft ads, which are much more understandable by the mass viewer.

Viva, i dont think the power user is so important. on these ads Microsoft just show that very ordinary people (not geeks at all) tend to do cool things with just few clicks of the mouse. Honestly for a total newcomer i think both linux and windows are equally difficult. it's just that Windows is most spread, nothing else and then they seed the fear that linux is sooooo much difficult. the nowadays linux gui interfaces are pretty much simplified and beautified and man i own a netbook - when i was on buying it and saw all available netbooks, some with linux on them i got shocked because the interface was so polished to user-friendly that even grandmother could use it in few minutes. So the point is just to show this to the mass users

[subdivision]

Hello, this is what linux needs:

Advertise campain showing to ordinary people how ordinary people use linux and easily can do cool things.


Good idea. Just pony up the cash and have some ads made.

[linuxguymarshall]

I think all major linux companies must take a note. PC is not Windows damn it.


While I hate it when they say it I am happy with the Microsoft laptop commercials. I would rather someone buy a Vista machine than buy a Mac.

[JillSwift]

If I may, someone posted this (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1219970) in the community games forum - I think it's the perfect ad for Linux =^_^=

[mikewhatever]

SunnyRabbiera, noone cares what me and you are thinking. Everybody cares what the mass is thinking. And the mass starts to like even more Microsoft:

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=136731


That article proves absolutely nothing. It presents an opinion and should be treated as such and not as a universal truth.

...and since when the mass started thinking? It does not, and never did, so that everybody of yours is in an absurd situation, caring about something that doesn't even exist.

[toupeiro]

Let me put this in a different light..

What commercials did you see that enticed you to try linux? I am almost 100% sure I could pose this question to every person in the world running linux and get the same answer.

Linux doesn't NEED an advertising campaign. It needs to keep on doing what its doing, and thats being better, and cheaper, than ALL of its competition. Everyone who found Linux was for one reason or another, looking for something different.

I think what would be an interesting social experiment is a 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon, except for linux. In other words, I bet you can't go passed seven degrees of separation before finding someone who runs linux. Linux has its own advertising campaign, its users.

[windows-killer]

Linux needs Windows power users. Most normal users don't actually maintain their system or care about what they are using as long as it works. The middle men or power users usually do the maintenance of computers in their family or community. They are like knights in the medieval world, strong and often more powerful than the ruler himself. But they also have a big ego and are scared about losing their power user status. It is important to turn them in our favour one way or the other, Mozilla did this and gained a strong market share in the browser market.

Computer is a tool. One reason why I switched to ubuntu, it was because I didnt have to maintain it like windows. I dont care about maintenance since ubuntu doesint need to be maintained, its well organized to maintain itself. I have to agree with the mozilla strategy, I think its a result of their 25%+ market share. If Canonical could do the same thing it would be grreat!

[Eisenwinter]

Linux doesn't need to an advertisement campaign. It's not about market share.

[RiceMonster]

Linux doesn't need to an advertisement campaign. It's not about market share.

/thread

[Swagman]

I think the Muso's here should create an "Open Sauce / Linux" Anthem. Mixing/Changing genre's at the breaks...

[JillSwift]

Linux doesn't need to an advertisement campaign. It's not about market share.
Nope, it's not about market share. It's about making sure everyone knows they have a far wider range of choices than "Mac or Win".

Choice is kewl.

[azangru]

I am almost 100% sure I could pose this question to every person in the world running linux and get the same answer.

Well, there was some coverage of Ubuntu Linux on DL.TV in early 2008 (and DL.TV episodes were at that time advertised by PC Magazine). I think, seeing the simplicity of it was what made me try Linux. And once you've tried, you are sold :) So yeah, to a certain extent I can say that I came to the Linux world through advertisement.

[Little Bit]

Get a bunch of us superenthusiastic brand newbies to make a music video!

Amy

[RaverWild]

Thank you JillSwift, that's precisely what I was talking about - spreading the word is not enough and we don't talk about market shares, we talk about knowing the options for making a choice.

Also the market share is not such a bad thing. It maybe not the primary linux idea but why then they sell computers with pre-installed linux? There is some profit there. And where are money there is a report and so a share analysys as well.

In my country, more and more people use computers. We're kinda IT country as here programers are a well developed tribe :) Many of us are programers or at least into the IT industry. But the majority are into Windows development or at least use Windows as a primary OS. Not to talk for the casual computer user. For the majority of people Linux is the Big Complex Thing and Oh No I Can't Use That!! True some don't want it for specific software reason - they use something that does not exist or it's not working the same way on Linux.

I am personally very happy with the improvement of the GUI last years. I would never use anything without a user-friendly GUI. The shell is cool and brings me nostalgic feeling for times 12years ago, but nowadays everything must be user-friendly. The GUI tuning for the netbooks is even simplified and makes me quite optimistic.

But that's not enough. I stone people when I show them compizfusion effects...and they still use Windows. Why? Because that's the well-known thingy they used for years and they are familiar with and don't like to leave their well-suited little world.

Microsoft did it right, the message is "even 7y old kid and 90y old lady could do these cool things with few clicks of the mouse on their home computer for few minutes, so everybody can do great things easily at home with our operating system!". Pretty straight-forward. I used to learn marketing at school and that's exactly like they teached us to spread messages - simply.

Ad campains are a must for the industry, otherwise Linux would remain exactly that well known to the mass user, as the coolest web-application framework is now known to my aunt.

Current Ubuntu versions for example, require so less of administration and maintenance in contrast to Windows and what? Majority still use Windows. It's just already into their conciousness that PC IS Windows and that Windows Is Easy, as well as Everything Else Do Not Worth Using. Don't know how's in USA guys - you there have the Mac well known for a long time, but in Europe where Mac is not so spread, users think of a PC and they imediatelly think of Windows.

[RaverWild]

Get a bunch of us superenthusiastic brand newbies to make a music video!


Thank You Little Bit - I would already did it, If I knew how :)

[heroidi]

Get a bunch of us superenthusiastic brand newbies to make a music video!

Amy

One of the best ideas in the good idea list :P.

[toupeiro]

Well, there was some coverage of Ubuntu Linux on DL.TV in early 2008 (and DL.TV episodes were at that time advertised by PC Magazine). I think, seeing the simplicity of it was what made me try Linux. And once you've tried, you are sold :) So yeah, to a certain extent I can say that I came to the Linux world through advertisement.

Come on. one mention on DL.TV (???) should stand as a creditable example of how great advertising has been for the tremendous linux desktop growth over the last three to four years? How about, The linux desktop has seen tremendous growth DESPITE not having huge advertising campaigns, and its starting to make enough noise that some TV shows are covering it. Thats not an advertising campaign. Thats linux being good enough at what it does on word of mouth to helplessly cross over into televised advertising.

[azangru]

Come on. one mention on DL.TV (???) should stand as a creditable example of how great advertising has been for the tremendous linux desktop growth over the last three to four years?

That's the whole point - the advertising campaign hasn't been great, it has been practically non-existent, but advertising is powerful, especially when it's educative (not like Microsoft's ads :)), and I can attest to that.

I am just surprised how many people believe that Linux doesn't need any advertising at all, because Linux is so great. Well, Macs (and MacOS) are also supposed to be great, but Apple advertises like hell.

[toupeiro]

That's the whole point - the advertising campaign hasn't been great, it has been practically non-existent, but advertising is powerful, especially when it's educative (not like Microsoft's ads :)), and I can attest to that.

I am just surprised how many people believe that Linux doesn't need any advertising at all, because Linux is so great. Well, Macs (and MacOS) are also supposed to be great, but Apple advertises like hell.

I think its overhyped, personally. You have to admit, you are the minority in that you got your linux start from televised advertising. The linux community is in the millions of people, and I am very confident that number of users didn't come from advertising campaigns. The users that switched didn't need to be sold on linux by some guy on TV. They needed something, they looked for it, they found it, and it delivered. Microsoft and Apple, as you pointed out, both spend ridiculous money on advertising and they both have shrinking userbases globally. Why? Because they are both in the business of continuing to tell people how great their product is, but not listening closely to what their users want in that product. Think about it, Slashdot had an article a few days ago linked in regarding the corporate view on Windows 7.. Why is it that over 50% of the fortune 100 companies that are Microsoft shops which didn't switch to vista still have no migration plans to Windows 7? They run a near 9 year old operating system because Microsoft has failed to deliver a realistic alternative in that amount of time. That type of publicity, internally or externally, will trump anything they spend on commercials with big name actors. But, its what they've done, and its what they know.

I guess I have a profound amount of respect for anything that has grown / is growing in the way linux is, driven by word of mouth by the people who are using it. Maybe I'm only speaking for myself here, but I'm sick of being told how great things are on TV or in magazines, that almost never deliver what they promise. I'm relieved linux more than delivers on its promise, and that message is being passed by its community.