Apple's mobile ad network iAd to debut in Europe in December

Apple on Thursday announced plans to expand its iAd mobile advertising network to the UK and France this December, followed by Germany in January.

iAd will launch in Europe with iAds from L'Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio, the company said in a statement.

iAd is a new way for advertisers to reach out to millions of iPhone and iPod touch users right in their apps, while providing a significant new revenue stream for developers.

Since its US launch in July, iAd has signed on over half of the top 25 leading US national advertisers with a projected 21 per cent share of US mobile display advertising revenue in 2010, according to research firm IDC, said an official communiqué.

"We're thrilled to add leading global brands to the iAd Network in Europe and create even more great opportunities for developers," said Andy Miller, Apple's vice president of iAd. "In just four months, we've doubled the number of advertisers on the network and thousands of developers now have a valuable new source of revenue."

"As the world leader in the beauty business, L'Oréal aims to create the most meaningful connections between its brands and its customers, so iAd was a natural choice," said Marc Menesguen, L'Oréal's head of strategic marketing.

iAd, which is built into iOS 4, lets users stay within their current app while engaging with an ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes content.