[jmsdnns]

he was vocal about his opposition to intrusive ads in particular. he'd say "You’re either the customer or you’re the product." he believed users paid a premium for apple products and that they should not be subjected to compromises with advertising.

iAd was something that happened right at the end of his life because devs were putting ads in apple apps anyway and he wanted to control how that was done.

this is meant to add context to what bluedevilzn said, btw. it is not a refutation.

[rchaud]

Jobs disliked anything where Apple wasn't getting a cut. Flash games and Google ads being two of the biggest offenders in his eyes.

He also "hated" the small tablets Samsung were making, saying in a keynote that you'd have to file your finger down to use it. He said this knowing full well Apple were launching the iPad Mini in 12 months' time.

I really hope one day Jobs' marketer-speak soundbites stop being repeated like like biblical pronouncements. The App Store, Apple News, Stocks and other properties are filled with hideous Google-like ads today, and Jobs likely wouldn't bat an eye, because they brought in money.

[simonh]

I think Jobs recognised that ads are intrusions into people’s lives. The advertiser has a responsibility to respect the audience. They don’t have a natural right to that attention, and have to earn it.

Thats why the F1 wallet add is such a bad move. It’s disrespectful and intrusive.

iAD was supposed to be about innovative, informative, well designed high quality adverts. It never really worked out though.