IAd: Spotted in the Wild (Kind of)

ScreenHunter_01 Apr. 05 20.48

Since iAd arrived last year with much fanfare, there have been surprisingly low incidents of actually spotting the ads within iPhone apps. This has provided some evidence to support reports that Apple is having trouble selling them beyond marquee brands.

Apple today released an app (an appropriate vehicle) that showcases all iAd campaigns in one place. This might seem strange: an app just for ads … who would want to just view ads? It’s a good question but it almost fetishizes iAd while also providing a good research tool.

The latter could apply to brands that want to see what is possible with iAd. For reporters or analysts, it’s a good tool to finally find and view iAd campaigns on demand. They’re all in one place in a gallery format. The app is in fact called iAd Gallery and can be downloaded free here.

My first reaction is that the ads are very robust, and offer a lot beyond pushing products. There are often games, videos and other interactive features that utilize the touch screen, GPS and other hardware specs. This isn’t new — something we’ve covered — but it’s good to see it in action.

I’d recommend checking out the app and playing with some of the ads. This goes especially for publishers or advertisers wondering how iAd applies to you and the cool things you can do with it. I get questions like this all the time so I know you’re out there.

In the meantime, see below for a series of screenshots I took of one of the campaigns on display within the app: A BMW campaign with interactive tours of the X3, videos and a dealer locator. It’s all pretty slick, as expected.

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