Apple (AAPL) says it has funded a study that proves its new iAd format, which shows advertising on iPhones and iPods, is much more effective than traditional television commercials.

The company, along with Campbell Soup (CPB), hired the Nielsen firm to spend five weeks comparing Campbell's iAds and television ads, reports AdAge. The bottom line: People were twice as likely to recall a Campbell's iAd than a Campbell's TV ad.

Even better: The people surveyed were more likely to remember the "Campbell's" brand and the messaging in the advertising. They were much more likely to buy Campbell's after seeing the iAd than those who simply saw the TV ad.

Apple is hoping to use the study as ammunition to persuade marketers to go with the iAd format instead of more traditional advertising venues. But what Apple wants in return is a lot: A commitment of as much as $1 million in media spending from a marketer.

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And let's not forget the 800-pound gorilla in the industry: Google (GOOG), which says its mobile ad network AdMob is getting more than 2 billion ad requests a day. That's a fourfold increase from a year ago, RCR Wireless News reports. Google says that a recent AdMob campaign involving Volvo led to a 240% increase in brand favorability and an 88% rise in purchase intent.

The big question in the industry -- and one immediately raised in comments in the AdAge story -- is whether people remember the ads mostly because they're on a cool smartphone. Is the iAd format really that effective, or are people just not used to seeing interactive ads on an iPhone?

There's no doubt that iAds, like other online advertising, are more interactive than television spots. People who saw the Campbell's iAd could click deeper into the Campbell's experience and see recipes, coupons and other links.

Apple went to all this trouble to get a respectable survey in hand because there are big bucks at stake here. In October and November alone, Campbell's spent $25 million on soup-related advertising in network and cable television, AdAge reported.