iPhone ad platform gets US$60m in advance bookings

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, announced that Apple's iAd mobile advertising network for iPhone and iPad would go live on July 1, with 17 advertisers.

The iAd service offers advertising inside mobile apps, initially on the iPhone and iPod Touch and promises to combine the emotion of TV advertising with the interactivity of internet.

Jobs said advertisers had committed to spend US$60 million (about R420 million) in advertising in the second half of 2010, representing half of the total US mobile ad spend forecaste by JP Morgan for that time period, according to Apple.

App developers can create in-app advertising

Brands appearing on iAd will include AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup Co., Chanel, Citi, DirecTV, GEICO, GE, JCPenney, Liberty Mutual Group, Nissan, Sears, State Farm, Target, Turner Broadcasting System, Unilever and The Walt Disney Studios.

The new mobile ad platform allows app developers to create in-app advertising. Currently anyone who clicks on an advert in a downloadable app is bounced out of it and on to the advertiser's webpage. According to Apple, this deters many users from clicking on adverts. In contrast, iAd will allow full-screen video and interactive advertising content to be served within an application. Developers who include ads applications keep 60% of generated revenue.

Steve Jobs said: "iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favourite apps. iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod Touch users, a highly desirable demographic for advertisers, and provide developers [with] a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low-cost applications."

The iPhone 4 goes on sale June 24. The device is a quarter thinner than the current iPhone, has a glass front and back, and will be available in black or white. The smartphone will launch first in the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. Apple plans to roll out the iPhone 4 to 83 more countries by the end of September.