iAd network still on shaky ground?

Apple has put a stop to iAd placements in kids' apps, a developer informs. Mike Zornek -- creator of the Dex Pokèmon browser for iPhones and iPods -- notes that last Thursday, his iAd fill rate dropped to an "awful" 5 percent. The next day the rate fell to zero, persisting through Saturday. This prompted Zornek to email Apple, and also to post a question in Apple's developer forums. On Tuesday he received a response.

"We periodically review the apps in the iAd Network to ensure that all apps receiving ads are aligned with the needs of our advertisers," part of a message from iAd Network Support reads. "Currently, our advertisers prefer that their advertising not appear in applications that are targeted for users that are young children, since their products are not targeted at that audience."

Many of Apple's iAd clients, such as Nissan and Unilever, are pushing products which are irrelevant to the younger users of apps like Dex. The companies are likely putting pressure on Apple to improve iAd's effectiveness. The minimum buy for the network is still $500,000, down from an initial $1 million, and early this year developers began complaining about low fill rates in general. iAd was initially intended to be a premium advertising platform, but has struggled to gain ground versus the likes of Google's AdMob, which offers several advantages such as being cross-platform.

by MacNN Staff