If you’re among the happy campers who believe iTunes is “pure,” you could be in for a nasty shock.
“Apple - a brand that prides itself on the purity of the user experience - will soon put up billboards on its popular iTunes service, according to content partners who have been briefed on the plan,” says Advertising Age.
“The introduction of visual ads could be the first step to allowing ads in other content areas or on iPods.”

Steve Jobs has supported the idea of ad-supported podcasts, “so adding a visual component to the existing audio ads isn’t much of a stretch”.

The move to make the iPod software fill-station really pay for itself, instead of barely breaking even, is, “sure to entice advertisers interested in reaching millions of devotees of the service” Advertising Age admits, but it, “could be worrisome to the service’s users, who unplug from ad-supported media when they plug their earphones in”.
And that, says the story, could be why the ads would appear only in the lower-left corner of the iTunes library, “while users listen to podcasts from their computers rather than from portable devices”.
But, it goes on, it’s still a big step for iTunes, which has so far limited ad “intrusions” to audio spots in some of the podcasts.
“ESPN Radio, which supplies some of iTunes’ most popular ad-supported sports podcasts, is working with the service on the new advertising offering,” says Advertising Age.
And if iTunes users will be upset, what about the biggie TV stations?
The iTunes deal, “undercuts the networks’ bread-and-butter business,” the story adds.
“ABC is about to work advertising into its on-demand distribution plans; in May and June it will offer free versions of several of the same shows it sells on iTunes on its own site with ads that can’t be skipped. NBC will launch free original Webisodes this summer of its hit ‘The Office.’ AOL’s In2TV plans to offer free, ad-supported original fare and just signed a distribution deal with A&E Network.”