# Firefox’s community-funded newspaper ad

> About 10,000 contributors funded a two-page Firefox newspaper ad in 2004.

- Owner: Mozilla / Spread Firefox
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Technology
- Seed date: 2004-10-19
- Milestone date: 2004-12-16
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
- Spread Score: 33 (Niche, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Fandom mobilisation, Identity badge, Platform jump

## Summary

Volunteers raised money for a Firefox newspaper ad in October 2004. Donors promoted referral links; a French community relayed the appeal. Mozilla placed the resulting two-page spread in the December 16 New York Times.

## Timeline

- 2004-10-19 — Mozilla (Open web) — Mozilla announced a volunteer campaign to fund a New York Times ad.
- 2004-10-19 — Jesse Ruderman (Open web) — Jesse Ruderman donated and invited readers to donate through his referral link.
- 2004-10-19 — Jesse Ruderman’s readers (Open web) — Readers reported donating through his link; comments exposed payment confusion and demand for a printed keepsake.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/firefox-community-funded-newspaper-ad

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Firefox’s community-funded newspaper ad.” Case HIS-01077. Spread Score v1.2: 33/100. Updated 2026-10-17. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01077