Edible Apple

Apple yesterday released a new app titled iAd Gallery which, as you might expect, simply features a gallery of iAd campaigns. Don’t worry, the app is a free download.

The iAd Gallery is a celebration of advertising, featuring iAd campaigns from some of the world’s best brands and their advertising agencies. The iAd Gallery gives you easy access to a selection of the fun and informative ads that have run in some of your favorite apps. Use the Browse feature to discover ads you haven’t seen, or to find those you want to see again. Even lets you tag your favorites to a Loved section that’s all your own.

Some of the app’s tantalizing features include:

• Updated regularly to include a selection of the latest ads running on the iAd Network
• Explore by spinning the wheel of iAd banners, or search by advertiser, category or ad feature
• Learn about the featured ads, including the advertising agencies behind them
• Easily access your favorite ads anytime by placing them in your Loved section
• Tap into the More section to find additional details about the iAd Network

We suppose this is a nice and free way for Apple to showcase engaging and and interesting ads developers are running on iOS, but we still can’t figure out if this is something that’s meant to appeal to the average user looking to check out some cool ads or perhaps as a way to build up some buzz for Apple’s iAd initiative. Maybe it’s meant to give advertisers a better understanding of how other companies are using Apple’s iAd tools to create engaging ads.

iAds is of course Apple’s homegrown advertising platform built on the shoulders of Quattro Wireless which Apple acquired for $275 million in January 2010. Since then, reports of advertiser success via iAds has varied, with some companies like Adidas noting that working with Apple is a tumultuous experience.

In its effort to help foster creative and immersive iAds, Apple in December announced a new software tool dubbed iAd Producer which helps developers and designers create rich, sleek, and elegant content for iAds. iAd Producer “automatically manages the HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript behind your iAd” while also providing advanced JavaScript editing and debugging tools.

Lastly, we can’t help but point the humor in this free iAds app. I mean, it’s essentially asking users to download for free the same content they probably take pains to avoid on apps that they actually paid for.