iAd Is The Tortoise, Not The Hare

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple’s foray into the creation of mobile advertising on behalf of big brands is going, but slowly.

Since launching its iAd mobile advertising service on July 1, Apple has been slow to roll it out. Of the 17 launch partners Apple named for iAd, only Unilever PLC and Nissan Co. had iAd campaigns for much of July.
Part of the reason some marketers are experiencing delays in getting their iAds to market is that Apple has kept tight control on the creative aspects of ad-making. That has made the creation of the mobile ads laborious, taking about eight to 10 weeks from brainstorm to completion.
“It’s a huge issue having Apple in the creative mix,” said Patrick Moorhead, director of mobile platforms at DraftFCB.

This is an interesting clash of cultures. Apple Computer isn’t going to crap out a bunch of mobile ads, no matter who’s paying the bill and how many zeros are attached to it. It’s not part of their DNA to do so. For Apple, iAds are another of their great products. That’s a foreign idea to agency execs who see servicing the client as their number one priority.