Just How Weak Is the Ad Market?

Advertisers dropped a measly $148.99 billion on media last year, research firm TNS Media Intelligence reported Tuesday morning. Measly? Really? Yes. That's only a 0.2 percent increase from 2006.

For a little context, in 2006 spending was up 4.1 percent over 2005. In 2005, spending was up 3.0 percent over 2004. For 2008, thanks to the Olympics and the election, TNS has forecasted a 4.2 percent increase in media spending.

Internet display advertising saw the biggest gains with $11 billion spent on media. That's $1.6 billion more than was spent in 2006, or a 16 percent increase. But one billion dollars means a lot more to the Internet than it does to more traditional media. While advertisers spent $1.1 billion less on TV than they did in 2006, that's only equal to a 1.7 percent decrease.

Procter & Gamble was the biggest marketer laying out $3.5 billion for the media on which it advertises products like Tide, Crest, and Pringles. AT&T took the number two spot with a $2.2 billion bill to the media companies.

by Willow Duttge