This Week's Sponsor:

Kolide

Ensure that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta.


Adidas Cancels iAd Campaign Because Steve Jobs Is A Control Freak

Despite some initial doubts about a not exactly happy start, Apple’s iAd program is predicted to match Google in the mobile market share by year’s end, and we’ve heard stories about iAds becoming a real gold mine for developers. We’ve also heard complaints from advertisers about Apple’s strict control on ad approval - something huge corporations like, say, Nissan or AT&T are not used to. Businesses weren’t used to “ad approval process” before Apple, and that’s all because Steve Jobs wants to build an ad system that engages users at a personal level with curated, rich and beautiful advertisements.

Still, some are having a hard time to accept these rules. Business Insider reports that Apple has lost another advertiser, Adidas. After the third rejection of their campaign they apparently grew tired of Apple’s control and canceled a $10 million campaign.

Apple has lost another advertiser for its “iAd” mobile advertising business – this time Adidas, the athletic apparel giant – according to scuttlebutt we have heard from two mobile industry execs.

Adidas supposedly pulled its $10+ million ad campaign from the iAd program because Apple CEO Steve Jobs was being too much of a control freak. According to one industry exec, Adidas decided to cancel its iAds after Apple rejected its creative concept for the third time.

As BI’s Dan Frommer also speculates, it may be that Adidas kept on pulling out lame ideas and Apple did the right thing in rejecting them. We don’t know, but an Apple representative confirmed that, yes, Adidas pulled its iAd campaign. The Wall Street Journal reported back in August that many ad agencies were stressed by Apple’s control policy in regards to ad approval - something that never happened with Google. Furthermore, Apple doesn’t provide additional tools to monitor and track campaigns. Maybe it’s time for Apple to open up a little.

Unlock More with Club MacStories

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

Choose the Club plan that’s right for you:

  • Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with app collections, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, a Club-only podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
  • Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus exclusive content like Federico’s Automation Academy and John’s Macintosh Desktop Experience, a powerful web app for searching and exploring over 6 years of content and creating custom RSS feeds of Club content, an active Discord community, and a rotating collection of discounts, and more;
  • Club Premier: Everything in from our other plans and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.