IBM is to launch a high-profile advertising campaign featuring Tux, the Linux penguin.

Starting this week, a six-storey billboard in New York's Times Square will be emblazoned an image of the Linux penguin alongside peace and love symbols that give the multi-million dollar campaign a distinctly 60s feel.

Print ads in newspapers and magazines also begin this week, to be followed by emails adverts and video spots featuring a dancing Tux.

More ads in the print campaign will show how users contemplate Einstein's theory of relativity using Linux clusters and highlight the diverse ages of people who use the open source operating system. The campaign is due to be rolled out in Europe and Asia later this year.

Andy Berndt, senior copywriter at ad agency Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, told Advertising Age: "We picked these icons because they summed up the spirit of the Linux community worldwide, which is sharing and helping others improve on what they do."

IBM said the campaign, dubbed "Peace, Love & Linux", is a "rallying cry" for open-source software and standards. ®

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