Apple iPhone OS 4.0 Introduces iAd [Video]

We had heard rumors about it, but now it's official. Apple has pulled the lid off of their own mobile advertisement plans, and have introduced iAd. There's a lot going on here, and Steve Jobs did a great job of showcasing just what the iAd program is all about. But, mostly, the whole point of the last tentpole is to say how all the other mobile advertisers haven't done anything worthwhile, and Apple has found a way to make it all make sense.

"Average user spends over 30 minutes using their iPhone's apps. "If we said we were going to show an ad every three minutes that would be ten per device per day, about the same as a TV show. That's a billion ad opportunities a day on 100m devices," said Steve Jobs at the iPhone OS 4.0 keynote, Thursday.

As you can see, as Jobs notes, the mobile advertisement game is a growing one, and Apple knows just how to get into the game. The ads are going to be non-obtrusive: It's basically like nested applications – the ad is an app of its own, with various video, game and other media content. You will see the advertisement, and if you're interested in the product or serve therein, you access the appropriate part of the application and go forward.

Apple showcased a Toy Story 3 advertisement, that actually played like a game. Why? Because it was a game. There was obviously the ability for in-ad purchases, but the entire game was repurposed in HTML5 to work as an advertisement for the product, while the user experienced the ad in a whole new way. As Apple puts it, it's about the emotion behind the advertisement. About the emotional connection between the ad and the person experiencing that ad. If you see too many advertisements you hate, you won't want to go into that application anymore, basically.

[vms 0e441f0fb6f3fad709e2]

The coverage is still going live, so check it out and follow along with us! There's more still to come.