Edible Apple

Back in April, Steve Jobs took the stage at a special iOS event and declared, without hesitation, that mobile ads suck. The solution? iAds, Apple’s foray into the world of mobile advertising, a world still dominated by Google.

Now that developers and advertisers have had some time to see how iAds perform out “in the wild”, it appears that Apple’s efforts to create a high-quality, interactive, and premium priced ad platform is paying significant dividends for both developers and advertisers.

Profiling a number of players in the ad game, the Los Angeles Times notes that not only are advertisers paying big bucks for iAd placement, but that users are far more likely to engage with iAds than they are other standard adverts.

When Jobs demoed iAds, he showcased a Nissan ad which provided users with an interactive user experience previously not seen in the mobile space. Regarding that specific ad, Nissan said that users spent an average of 90 seconds with the ad, which is up to 10 times longer than users tend to spend on other mobile ads.

From the developer point of view, things are just as cheery. Dictionary.com noted that it’s been able to charge up to 177% more for ad space since it implemented iAds on its app. Meanwhile, CBS executive Rob Gelick said CBS’s lineup of six apps have seen CPM’s as high as $25.

Not too shabby.

Another success story has been an interactive Dove ad, which saw a “”double-digit percentage of users seeking further information about the product, with 20% of viewers returning to check the ad out again.”

Looking ahead, the report notes that we can expect to see upcoming iAds from the likes of companies like Campbell Soup, DirectTV, General Electric and Sears.