If you’ve had your eye on mainstream broadcast and video of late, you may well have seen Apple’s remarkable ad spot spelling out the importance they put on user privacy.

The ad has arrived following the recent iOS 14 update that gave users an explicit chance to opt in (rather than out) of being tracked by apps, including games. And it has one very clear message: ‘user privacy matters to Apple’. It’s a message that chimes with us at AudioMob.

But before we get to that. Let’s tackle a look at the ad. Being from Apple, it’s unsurprisingly a very polished creation. It features the superb 1979 post-punk single Mind Your Own Business by Delta 5, that now feels like a somewhat prescient proto megaphone pop anthem to current privacy concerns. And the ad uses a very smart visual concept to communicate what IDFA changes and opt-in tracking can mean - and feel like - for the consumer.

It’s in equal parts witty and striking - but if a picture paints a thousand words, a video paints a thousand words per frame. So with that in mind, check out the ad right here:

At AudioMob we help game companies grow by letting them serve audio ads in their games. Some might assume that all adtech companies pay little mind to user privacy concerns. But here at AudioMob, we really do!

In fact, from the inception of our technology - long before Apple’s IDFA changes came in - we’ve been focused on a contextual approach that delivers brands meaningful connections with relevant audiences - without using highly personal information. Contextual is in our DNA - and you can learn more about our contextual approach here.

We also believe in the power of advertising, of course. Because successful ads don’t just deliver powerful results for brands. They keep the likes of the internet, TV broadcasts, radio and games free for billions of users. They bring in the budget needed to maintain the highways of freedom of information. They let us be entertained, informed and educated without charge. They even enable mass communication at low or no cost. The internet itself deserves most credit for democratising information - but ads make access to that information much more widespread.

Yet privacy still matters tremendously. And at AudioMob we’re convinced privacy and ads’ positive influence on access to information can meaningfully coexist. Our technology - we hope - is proof of that.

Put another way, we agree with Apple, and we love the new ad. We’re glad the issue is getting such a mainstream spotlight.

And we’re really delighted to have been introduced to Delta 5. Their 1980 John Peel session is well worth a listen.