Slashdot guided me to this Economic Times article "IBM promotes Linux in new ad". The ad, to be aired initially during the opening NFL game and the US Open Men's Finals, will feature the catch phrase "Linux: The Future Is Open." What's significant is the strong metaphor of the young boy as Linux:

In the IBM commercial, a blond, blue-eyed boy sits mum as a stream of celebrities ply him with information on everything from plumbing to the mysteries of the universe. The more knowledge the boy absorbs, the more it benefits humankind, it says.

"Collecting data is only the first step toward wisdom, but sharing data is the first step toward community," Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr advises the boy in the ad, recalling the ethos of the programming community behind Linux.

AdAge has more details, as well as a link to the advertisement itself. Watch the video. This is a fantastic advertisement for the open source community because of the messages about community and sharing embodied in the ad; indeed, for all that see community and collaboration as the most effective means of knowledge production .

Gotta love that the media format for the version of the ad available above is Windows Media Player :)

Cross posted at cyberdash.