Apple released a new tool to developers Monday, iAd Producer. The Mac OS X software allows content creators to develop their own interactive ads for Apple’s iAd network and manages the HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript necessary to make the ads work.
iAd is Apple’s mobile advertising network for iOS devices the company launched earlier in 2010. iAd ads are intended to be interactive commercials, and Apple has worked closely with advertisers to produce (and control) early iAd spots, and the company has heretofore worked only with large commercial outfits.
The release of iAd Producer means that Apple is ready to let advertisers develop their own spots, though Apple is likely to continue to maintain tight control over the content that goes out across its network.
“iAd Producer makes it easy for you to design and assemble high-impact, interactive content for iAd,” the company wrote on its Web site. “For advanced developers, iAd Producer offers sophisticated JavaScript editing and debugging, along with a powerful extension mechanism that enables them to create and re-use their own page templates and components.”
The software suite features, Page Templates, a Component Library, Pre-built Animations & Effects, a Simulator, an Asset Library, Advanced JavaScript Editing, Project validation, JavaScript debugging, and an Optimization tool.
iAd Producer
In addition to letting producers test their iAd on their local system or across a local network, iAd customers can use the software to test their work over a carrier network using a dedicated test server the company set up.
iAd Producer is available only to registered developers, and can be found at Apple’s Developer Connection.