Capitalizing on all the iPad buzz this week, Apple wasted no time in introducing its iAd advertising platform. Slashgear attended yesterday’s unveiling in Cupertino and comes back with this short video explanation.

Steve Jobs is selling this as a new approach to digital/mobile advertising by pushing advertisers and app developers to keep the branded message within the app. We think he’s on to something, and it’s not just about keeping the interaction seamless. The iAd concept will force advertisers to think of their branded messages in a completely different way. If they are competing with other apps, they’ll need to be more clever: entertaining, informing and educating the consumer with rich detail, not overt marketing messages.

This will be a challenge for marketing departments. They will have to be not just creative and entertaining, but informative, topical and relevant. In short, advertisers will have to think like app developers.