Question

I have an iPhone app that uses an iAd, with a fallback to an AdMob ad:

- (void)bannerViewDidLoadAd:(ADBannerView *)banner {

    [UIView beginAnimations:nil context:NULL];
    [UIView setAnimationDuration:0.3f];

    adBannerView.frame = CGRectMake(0, 410, 320, 50);

    [UIView commitAnimations];

    // hide the admob ad
    if(adMobView != nil && adMobView.superview != nil) {
        [UIView beginAnimations:nil context:NULL];
        [UIView setAnimationDuration:0.3f];
        adMobView.frame = CGRectMake(0, 460, 320, 48);
        [UIView commitAnimations];
    }
}

- (void)bannerView:(ADBannerView *)banner didFailToReceiveAdWithError:(NSError *)error {

    [UIView beginAnimations:nil context:NULL];
    [UIView setAnimationDuration:0.3f];

    // hide banner
    adBannerView.frame = CGRectMake(0, 460, 320, 50);
    [UIView commitAnimations];

    if(adMobView != nil && adMobView.superview != nil) {
        [adMobView requestFreshAd];
    } else {
        adMobView = [AdMobView requestAdWithDelegate:self];
        adMobView.frame = CGRectMake(0, 460, 320, 48);
        [self.view addSubview:adMobView];
    }
}

This works perfectly well on an iPhone. However, when the app is run on an iPad, this recurses; the [self.view addSubview:adMobView]; (specifically the call to ‘self.view’) calls loadView as per the ViewController.view reference, which tries to layout the AdBannerView again, which triggers the failure again.

I figure it has something to do with the bounds of the window on iPad being larger / different than on iPhone, and the rules that determine whether to attempt to load an AdBanner or not.

One solution is probably to adjust the bounds I’ve hardcoded to be further outside (and thus outside the iPad’s larger range). Another solution is to avoid the self.view call / risk of recursion entirely and do it another way – however, the AdMobView is a bit persnickety and really wants to be instantiated by requestAdWithDelegate, which would be premature if I put it in viewDidLoad.

Which approach is the wise one?

Answer 1

The solution is not to request a new Ad. Your ADBannerViewDelegate are responsible for hiding and showing the Ad and nothing else. From Apple’s documentation on iAd Error Handling:

Even after an error is sent to your delegate, the banner view continues to try to download new advertisements. Thus, implementing both of these delegate methods allows your application to display the banner only when advertisements are loaded.