"On December 16, 2004, the appearance of a donor-sponsored ad
for Firefox in The New York Times became a landmark in the history
of free and open source software. The first of its kind, the
campaign received widespread attention, while the ad itself was
seen as a sign that FOSS had entered the mainstream consciousness.
Since then, similar campaigns have been organized both in the FOSS
communities and in online social actions groups. While not suitable
for every FOSS project, such campaigns remain an important
marketing tool. However, they require careful consideration of
their suitability, a high degree of organization, and the
recognition of donors' contributions if they are to be fully
effective.
"As Gregory Heller, manager of the Defective By Design campaign,
points out, donor-paid ads have been used for decades in
newspapers..."
