Although it’s been a few months since Apple announced the iAd back in April, we are only just starting to see some good examples of it in action. The iAd is basically a mobile advertising platform where advertisements are integrated into iPhone applications. The key is that iAds will keep users within an app, rather than redirecting them to a browser window. Steve Jobs stated that Apple is looking to change the face of advertising by conducting the ad experience within apps rather than search.
Back in April, Apple demoed an iAd for Toy Story 3, demonstrating the ability to not only see information about the movie, but to watch trailers, play games and more, all within the same application from which you launched the ad. You will even be able to buy products within ads.The advantage of iAds is the interaction the user has with the ad (see the Nissan Leaf example below). They are not merely subjected to a presentation like a TV commercial but they interact with the ad, enhancing the user experience. According to Steve Jobs, iAds are mobile ads ‘with emotion’!
