Advertising spend fell off a precipice in the fourth quarter of 2008 plunging almost 10 per cent year on year. The figures, compiled by the World Advertising Research Centre for the Advertising Association, highlight the speed of the erosion of the UK ad market, as companies slash budgets in the uncertain economic climate.

The AA said that the 9.6 per cent fall in fourth quarter dragged the total UK ad spend for 2008 down 3.9% year on year, compared with the 4.6 per cent growth between 2006 and 2007.

The one bright light was the growth of internet ad spend, which saw a 17.3 per cent boost in the fourth quarter of 2008 year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the Nielsen Company has reported that US advertising for the full year 2008 was down 2.6 per cent compared to 2007. According to preliminary figures from Nielsen, US ad expenditures declined almost $3.7 billion to a total spend of $136.8 billion in 2008.

Hispanic Cable TV (+9.6 per cent) and Cable TV (+7.8 per cent) were the only two media to show ad growth in 2008. Cable was the highest revenue-generating medium with $26.6 billion in sales.

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