Linux joins the OS advertising battle

The operating system war has been waging for a long time now, and the two big players in the field have taken on distinct identities. Windows users are stereotyped as being stiff upper lip power tie wearing formal individuals, as against Mac addicts with the casual clothes and the careless Seinfeld cut. Of course, Seinfeld switched loyalties in the recent $300 million advertising campaign for Vista that was summarily dropped.

The 1337 tree-huggers of the computer world have something to celebrate. When not trying to install codecs into their Linux systems, they can spend their time making the I-am-Linux video. The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization hoping to spread the support for the open source operating system is planning to launch an advertising campaign made from these videos.

The brief for the video according to the official website is “in 60 seconds or less, showcase your take on I’m Linux. This should be why you love it and should inspire others to use it. The video can be an extensive production, a plain testimonial or as simple as a screen capture with a voice over. Be creative, be authentic and have fun.” The winner will be decided by a panel of judges and votes from the global nerd community. The contest will be open till March 15, and the winner gets free flight tickets to Tokyo and accommodation for the October 2009 Japan Linux Symposium.

We have a lot of questions. Are Mac or Windows machines allowed during the production of the video? Will judges prefer videos edited on Cinelerra instead of Final Cut Pro? Will the commercials actually be put to use over television networks? Whatever be the outcome, we can’t wait to get our hands on the rejects.