Mozilla is planning to ask amateur film makers to make 30-second video ads to promote Firefox. Through a series of online viral videos, made by volunteers who enter a competition, Mozilla is hoping to repeat the success of the last year’s campaign to promote the launch of Firefox 1.0. The films will be judged by a panel drawn from the film industry and prizes will include high-end computer systems.Word-of-mouth recommendation and a reputation for superior security and privacy features have helped Firefox claim 50 million active users over the past year. Such was the cult status of the first Firefox browser, tens of thousands of supporters, recruited through www.spreadfirefox.com, donated money to buy a full-page advertisement in the New York Times to promote it.
Mozilla which is run as a charity and relies on a global army of volunteers to build its products, is due to release Firefox 1.5 on Nov 29. It expects to roll out Firefox 2 next summer. Read full story - Film-makers asked to spread Firefox word
Firefox recently launched the Extend Firefox Contest, designed to encourage development of extensions to the browser. Extensions are small add-ons that add new functionality. They can be anything from a toolbar button to a completely new feature.
Firefox has had good success with its marketing hype, the only question is whether or not independent filmmakers will vie for the prize. Analysts said the worst case scenario is Mozilla ends up with only a handful of films to choose from, but that is not the expected outcome.