Preview and test ads
It’s recommended that you preview your ad to ensure creative accuracy. There are two ways to preview your ads with an uploaded creative:
On desktop: Preview the ad under the Ad Preview section of the Create Ad page. You should click the ads to ensure the behavior is as intended. Depending on your browser settings, previews might not render as intended.
On iOS devices: Preview how the ad will actually render on the Apple News channel feeds and in articles on devices using iOS 10.3 or later. We highly encourage previewing your ad on the intended device(s) for a more accurate depiction. You can also preview ads when your device is set to Dark Mode.
Steps for previewing ads
In the Ad Summary or Campaign Summary, click the gear icon next to the ad name and choose Preview Ad on News.
In the window that appears, do one of the following:
Select Channel Feed, click the menu, and choose a channel.
Select In Article and enter an article link.
Click Email. This will send an email to the address associated with your account.
Open the email on an iOS device and click the link.
Note that pre-roll and interstitial video ads can’t be previewed on Apple News at this time.
Test and preview ads utilizing third-party ad tags
For ads utilizing any third-party ad tags, we recommend testing your ads with the Workbench Ad Tester. In order to use the Workbench Ad Tester with a supported iOS device, an iOS profile must first be installed on the device.
Note that complex ad tags may not load in Workbench Ad Tester. For assistance, contact your third-party tag provider.
Install iOS profile for Workbench Ad Tester
On Workbench, select Account under your user name.
Select the iOS Profile Management tab on the Account Management page.
Note that only users with account management permission will be able to access the iOS Profile Management tab.
Select Send Profile and enter the information.
Click Send to trigger an email with iOS profile download instructions.
Open the email on an iOS device and follow the instructions to install the necessary iOS profile.
Use Workbench Ad Tester
Note that the Workbench Ad Tester QR code may not generate if your ad tag exceeds 4000 characters. This is only a limitation on the generation of the QR code for testing. There is no limitation of character count for ad tags when used to create an ad on Workbench.
iOS versions 12.1.1 and 12.1.2 aren’t supported with Workbench Ad Tester.
On Workbench, you can send yourself a link of your ad creative to open and review on the device being tested. Click your ad in preview mode to ensure your MRAID implementation is behaving as expected. Workbench will run a code check to flag any potential issues during the preview process. For example, the error “Potential Uncertified Features” means Workbench is calling out any features or implementations that Apple has not certified to work on Apple News.
To use Workbench Ad Tester:
Open the Workbench Ad Tester page on your desktop browser.
Select an ad format.
Select a device group for testing.
Paste your ad tag into the Ad Tag field.
Click Submit to generate a QR code.
Scan the QR code using the Camera app on an iOS device running iOS 11.4 or later.