Browsing the iTunes Store today, I noticed that Apple has ads for Apple Pay. They show up as bricks in the Movies, TV Shows and Apps section of the store:
The App Store ad takes you to a page of apps that support Apple Pay, but the other ads take you to this Apple Pay web page.
I don’t recall Apple ever advertising any of its products in the iTunes Store. They do have bricks touting iTunes gift cards, but I’ve never seen actual ads for Apple products and services (here, it’s an ad for Apple Pay, but also for the iPhone 6).
It’s surprising that Apple has opened up the iTunes Store to promote its products and services. I hope they don’t make this the norm; I don’t expect to see ads for Apple stuff – other than apps – when I visit this store.