U.S. Ad Spending

U.S. ad spending took a tumble during the first half of 2009 falling in almost every media and product category, according to Nielsen. A total of $56.9 billion was spent on advertising in the first six months of the year, more than $10.3 billion less than the same time period in 2008. Despite a 31% y/y drop, automotive remained the top product category, totaling $3.68 billion in spending through June. Sunday Supplements, Spot TV ads in smaller DMAs and magazine placements were among the hardest hit outlets. Cable TV was the only media category to see added spending with a 1.5% surge overall and a 0.6% increase for Spanish Language Cable TV. There were some growth categories, however, as ad spending on multi-function cell phones more than doubled to almost $233 million

Year-to-Year Change in Ad Spend, by Media
Media Category First Half 2009 vs. First Half 2008
Change
Cable TV 1.5%
Spanish Language Cable TV 0.6%
Internet -1.0%
FSI Coupon -5.5%
Network TV -7.0%
Network Radio -9.0%
Spot Radio -9.1%
Spanish Language TV -10.1%
Syndication TV -11.6%
Local Newspaper -13.2%
Outdoor -14.9%
Spot TV Top 100 DMAs -17.4%
National Magazine -21.2%
National Sunday Supplement -22.4%
National Newspaper -22.8%
Local Magazine -25.4%
B-to-B Magazines -31.8%
Spot TV 101-210 DMAs -32.1%
Local Sunday Supplements -45.7%
Grand Total -15.4%
Source: The Nielsen Company