APPLE PULLS iADS IN KID FOCUSED APPS

Apple has reportedly confirmed to a developer that it is no longer serving advertisements tied to its iAd platform in iOS apps geared toward children. When Mike Zornek — developer of Dex, a free Pokemon app for the iPhone and iPod touch — noticed iAd ads were no longer being served in his app, he contacted iAd support. The purported reply he received from Apple reads as follows:

Hello Michael,

We periodically review the apps in the iAd Network to ensure that all apps receiving ads are aligned with the needs of our advertisers. 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.

We appreciate your understanding.

Best Regards,

 iAd Network Support Apple, Inc. 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014

Apple’s iAd product hasn’t been the sweeping success many thought it would be when the company announced the product last year. Apple has since cut its minimum spend in half to $500,000, and it also tried to draw attention to the platform with a gallery of iAd ads packed into a dedicated iOS app. It now looks as though Apple is trying to add further appeal to its iAd product by delivering a network that is more targeted than several competitive networks might be. Of course developers like Zornek stand to suffer from the changes, and in typical Apple fashion, no notice was given to developers. “And that’s how an iAd supported version of Dex died,” Zornek wrote on his blog. “No warning, no notice and inevitably no respect to the developers who have cenetered [sic] their app’s revenue model around the iAd platform.”