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The curious idea of ads in iBooks

by Mike Schramm Aug 24th 2010 at 7:30PM

Don't worry -- you won't start seeing ads for tattoo parlors while reading Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not yet, anyway. But there's some interesting thinking going around the 'net (kicked off by this article in the Wall Street Journal) about how advertising may soon try to conquer the last bastion of entertainment: books. When you go to the movies, you see ads, when you watch TV and browse the Internet, there are ads everywhere. But why don't you see ads while reading a book? (I mean, besides the obvious conclusion that it's annoying and invasive?)

In the past, it's been because the lead time for books is a wild card. Unlike newspapers and movies, books have a longer shelf life, and different readers could revisit the same material over a period of years rather than days or weeks. You'd have to dynamically deliver ads in some way, and you'd need publishers with know-how and insight about their customers in order to sell relevant ads regularly. In short, you'd need e-books, and you'd need a company (says Snarkmarket) like, say, Apple.

Publishers may not have the ability to sell relevant ads to readers, but Apple surely does, especially since it seems to be sweeping up ad sales people as quickly as possible lately. And with prices becoming competitive in the e-book space, there's incentive for both Apple as an iBook publisher and even authors (who want to supplement e-book sale numbers with iAd sales) to bring advertising over to the iBookstore at some point.



We should say that this is all conjecture at this point. It's just bloggers hypothesizing on what's possible; it's not an actual business plan. And as history buffs will tell you, advertising in books is nothing new. It was done back in the days of penny dreadfuls, and checking the last few pages of any paperback novels that are currently on sale will show you that it's still done today.

But there's definitely an opportunity here. Apple already knows plenty about the preferences and desires of its iBooks customers, and it's steadily been building an interactive and dynamic advertising system. Would you be interested in getting your favorite iBook at half price just for seeing a few iAds while reading?



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Don't worry -- you won't start seeing ads for tattoo parlors while reading Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not yet, anyway. But there's some...
 

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Mr.Clicky

Maybe we should be asking why, when we pay good money to go see a movie, we should have to endure 30 minutes of advertising for the pleasure, hmmm?

August 25 2010 at 6:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John Hamilton Farr

"When you go to the movies, you see ads, when you watch TV and browse the Internet, there are ads everywhere."

How old are you, anyway? Do you not remember when the only ads you saw in movie theaters were previews of coming attractions, when public TV had no commercials, and when Internet ads were few and far between? The fact that we're inundated with this crap now doesn't mean it's OK.

August 25 2010 at 11:09 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
AZ

iAds are the reason I won't own an iPad or an iPhone (nor upgrade to iOS 4). The screens are already small and I don't need to lose screen real estate to some ad I really don't care about.

If I find something that interests me while reading a book (electronic or paper), or while surfing the internet, I'll look it up, I don't need some ad to draw my focus away from the task at hand.

Advertisements simply promote consumerism for crap people really don't need. If people NEED (or really want) a product, they will seek it out.

August 25 2010 at 9:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Geordie Korper

I own a publishing company and we already put advertising in our physical and e-books. We just do it well, so the reader appreciates it. We work very hard to find the right fit between sponsors and the authors to add value to the book. If you are reading a book about how to stay in shape a coupon for a free month @ the gym is generally a plus not a minus. Or if you are reading a book about someone's travels in a foreign country you might appreciate links to a wine distributor that carries that wine the author mentioned on page 57.

As it says in our data sheet for authors: We [optionally] match you with likeminded sponsors who want to create a commemorative edition or present their message to readers interested in your book’s topic. Authors are engaged in the decision making process and share in any resulting revenue streams. Because we consider your book a work of art, we ensure messaging adds to the overall readership experience and does not detract from your book, otherwise it’s not a good fit.

Advertising isn't bad. Bad advertising is though and sadly that is 95% of what people see.

August 25 2010 at 8:37 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Geordie Korper's comment
Thomas

Just what we want; yet more advertising. I've never seen a physical hardback book containing advertising and if I did it would go straight to the recycle bin.

I can just see picking up an e-book and reading a tender lovemaking seen and bam up pops an ad for condoms or a public service announcement on the dangers of STDs. Worse yet the medium would allow the annoying popups that are animated and play very loud music. This is a great reason to not buy e-books.

I would say that 99.9 % of advertising is mindless crap that only annoys people.

I would say you work very hard to collect yet more money from advertising and hopefully cuts in anything they buy. The fact that it annoys 90% of the people that see it is not a factor in your calculations.

August 25 2010 at 10:22 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Geordie Korper

Annoying popups with animation and sound is bad advertising. For that matter it is not possible on any of the e-readers out there. With the latest version of iBooks the iPad supports html5 audio and video embedding, but popups are a whole 'nother thing. There is only one window in an e-reader and as it says in the Apple Publishers Guide: "Dimensions of the audio scrubber and video pane are hard coded, eliminating syling challenges inherent with multiple platform and orientation support. The video pane dimensions are a 1:2 ratio and display at 300px wide by 150px tall on the iPad... Note that the video tag must include the required poster image. The customer sees the poster image in the text and clicks the image to start the video. The controls portion of the tag provides play, pause, stop, and other controls."

In order to get someone to click on the video they will have to see the value in doing so. Of course that is the secret to good advertising in general. As I said in my previous post, the reader needs to find value in the advertisement or it is pointless to have ads.

August 25 2010 at 11:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Thomas

It is already being done! Take a look at BookBooN.com

August 25 2010 at 6:55 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Arnan de Gans

Stop putting ads in every pixel we see dammit. Ads in books are a nono. I bought my iPad because i am highly interrested in the eBook idea. But why can't apple focus on a proper library of books instead of ads in the lousy lineup they have now.

A "lite" version of the book with ads is ok, but i won't ever buy or read that. I want a book without ads.

August 25 2010 at 6:01 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Arnan de Gans's comment
Gilles

" But why can't Apple focus on a proper library of books instead of ads in the lousy lineup they have now."

I completely agree. With the exception of E. Hemingway and a few J. C. Oates and S. King (if you like what he writes) and A. Christie (and the Classics, of course) the iBook Store is on the same level as a Book of the Month Club: Three year old Thrillers, run-of-the-mill Chic Lit, How to make money books, Memoirs of unknown celebrities. But we can't blame Apple ; the publishers are to blame.

August 25 2010 at 7:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nadav

Interesting idea but lets not kid oursleves, books have commercials today. If you have read the Milenium trilogy you can see there many adds for Apple products (and some Palm). It is clearly pre-iPhone book...

August 25 2010 at 3:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris

"Would you be interested in getting your favorite iBook at half price just for seeing a few iAds while reading?"

Absolutely not. This would kill the ebook market for me. One reason I read books is to keep away from the idiotic ads on tv. I use adblock for the same reason on the internet.

August 25 2010 at 12:02 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Josh Zytkiewicz

Or they could just make content that's compelling that we would want to pay full price for. I like that idea the best.

But offering the option for a reduced price if you look at ads, while still having the ad free book available is acceptable.

August 24 2010 at 10:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DJR

I'm as big an Apple fan as the next TUAW reader, but if they actually make this happen, they will officially be The Devil.

August 24 2010 at 10:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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