U.S. Adspend Dipped 0.6 Percent in Q1

NEW YORK, June 13: Advertising spending in the U.S. fell 0.6
percent in the first quarter of this year, mostly as a result of a decrease in
spending on network TV, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Network TV advertising was down 8.5 percent, but national
cable TV was up 2.5 percent, while Internet advertising rose 31.9 percent.
Advertising spending on Spanish-language television was also up, by 4 percent. "Spanish-language
TV advertising spend continues to show growth, not that surprising with the
increasing emphasis on targeted marketing,” said Brian Lane, the senior VP of
client strategy and product development for Nielsen Monitor-Plus. “Last year's
Torino Olympics in February 2006 contributed to a higher than typical first
quarter, resulting in a decline in TV ad spend for Q1 2007. If you removed the
Olympics' ad spend from the Network numbers last year, those numbers would
actually be up this quarter."

Advertising spending for the top ten companies for the first
quarter 2007 reached $4 billion, down 15 percent from the same time period in
2006. Nine of the ten advertisers decreased budgets—DaimlerChrysler was
the only exception, with 3.3 percent growth. The largest decline, of 35.8
percent, came from General Motors. Procter & Gamble remains the biggest
advertiser in the U.S., spending $749.8 million in the quarter, down 10.7
percent. Time Warner’s adspend fell 17.8 percent and The Walt Disney Company’s
was down 15.8 percent to $373.4 million. Other companies in the top ten include
AT&T, Ford Motor Co., Johnson & Johnson and Verizon Communications.

Nielsen Product Placement Service reported an increased
number of product placement occurrences in prime-time broadcast network
programming for Q1 2007. The top ten programs featured 8,893 occurrences
compared to 8,793 occurrences for the same time period last year. American
Idol is once again the leader in terms of
the number of product placements, with 3,113 occurrences vs. 3,052 occurrences
in Q1 2006. In second place is Amazing Race All Stars with 1,014 occurrences, followed by Beauty
and the Geek with 946. The
Apprentice surged to fourth place with 945
occurrences, compared to last year when the program ranked seventh overall with
607 occurrences.

"The top 10 programs for product placement this quarter
represent nearly half of the activity we tracked on English-language broadcast
networks,” said Annie Touliatos, the director of product development and
marketing for Nielsen Product Placement Service. “Although we see substantial
upwards trends with drama programs engaged in product placement, reality and
lifestyle shows continue to dominate our Top 10 rankings."