The combined overall household rating for Senator Barack Obama’s Wednesday night infomercial, in the top 56 local television markets where Nielsen maintains electronic TV meters, was 21.7.
Obama’s simulcast is the first to be aired by a presidential candidate since Ross Perot ran a political telecast on the eve of Election Day in 1996.  That program was watched by 16.8% of all households nationwide.
Ross Perot also ran a series of 15 political telecasts during the 1992 presidential election.
In comparison, the final debate between the two presidential candidates received a 38.3 household rating in the top …

According to data from Nielsen IAG, a Volkswagen ad featuring actress Brooke Shields was the most recalled new “traditional” ad during the four weeks between September 15 and October 12, 2008.
Recall refers to the percentage of television viewers who can recall, within 24 hours, an ad’s sponsor.

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain continued to close the gap between his TV advertising and Sen. Barack Obama’s in seven key swing states: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
On Tuesday, Oct. 28, McCain ran 1,543 ad units in those seven states — up 12.9% from the previous day, in which he ran 1,366 ads.
Obama continues to out-advertise McCain, but in comparison, he boosted his ad units by just 8.7%, from 2,906 units on Monday to 3,160 units on Tuesday, Oct. 28. 
On Monday, Obama ran 113% more ad units than McCain, but by …

Most global consumers agree that their countries have hit recession, but opinion on how long the recession will last remains mixed, Nielsen reported Wednesday.
While 53% of those surveyed by Nielsen think their country has hit a prolonged recession that will last more than 12 months, 18% of consumers, concentrated in a handful of emerging markets, like India, Vietnam, China, and Russia, told Nielsen they expect their countries to be out of recession within the next 12 months.
In contrast, consumers in Japan, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey, Italy, Taiwan, the U.S., and Spain were the …

ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” was the number one-ranked primetime telecast on broadcast TV for Tuesday, October 28, 2008.
CBS’s “NCIS” and “The Mentalist” rounded out the top three, claiming second and third places, respectively, in Nielsen’s ranking.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
17,445,000

2
NCIS
CBS
17,258,000

3
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
16,073,000

4
HOUSE
FOX
13,498,000

5
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
12,192,000

6
GREAT PUMPKIN, C. BROWN(S)-10/28/2008
ABC
10,383,000

7
LAW AND ORDER:SVU
NBC
9,329,000

8
BIGGEST LOSER 6
NBC
8,139,000

9
ELI STONE
ABC
6,916,000

10
FRINGE
FOX
5,664,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 28, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 15.2 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 11.7 million average viewers. FOX and NBC claimed third and fourth places with …

According to a new report from Nielsen Online, 12-17 year olds experience less advertising on the Web than older adults. The analysis of online advertising clutter showed that Internet users 65+ were exposed to the most ad clutter, while kids 2-11 experienced the least.
Online Advertising Clutter Exposure by Age Group
Source: Nielsen Online, Custom Advertising Clutter Analysis, U.S. August 2008

Consumers who have been following the turmoil in the U.S. automotive industry are also flocking online to discuss fuel efficient vehicles and a potential merger between General Motors (GM) and Chrysler, according to Nielsen Online. 
An analysis of GM-related online buzz between September 1 and October 24, 2008 found that consumer chatter on Internet message boards and blogs has focused on how Detroit would change if GM and Chrysler joined forces — and which vehicles might survive the merger.
GM’s forthcoming electric car, the Chevy Volt, also drove a significant portion of GM’s online buzz during …

Each week, Nielsen Sports analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.
This past weekend, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama faced some tough competition in Pennsylvania. 
With the Phillies playing in the World Series and college and pro football games on both Saturday and Sunday, there was no shortage of TV sports options for politics-weary Pennsylvanians, looking for a break from presidential campaigning.
The action started on Saturday in western Pennsylvania, as the Penn State Nittany Lions took on their Big 10 Rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes.  In nearby Pittsburgh, 20.8% of …

U.S. households with five or more members spent almost 2.5 times as much on diapers and baby food than average American consumers during the 52 weeks ending June 28, 2008, according to Nielsen.
Although they represent only 10.5% of U.S. households, these larger households represented 27.6% of disposable diaper dollar sales and 26.7% of baby food dollar sales during the time period.
Other categories skewing to larger households include prepared food mixes, frozen juices, and breakfast foods.

Rank
(by highest index)
Top 10 Categories:
U.S. Households With
5 Or More Members
Dollar Volume Index

1
Disposable Diapers
263

2
Baby Food
255

3
Prepared Food – …

Yesterday Sen. John McCain boosted his TV advertising units in seven key swing states — Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, closing the gap between his advertising and Sen. Barack Obama’s.
On Sunday, Oct. 26, McCain ran just 331 TV ad units in those seven states — 308% fewer than the 1,350 ad units Obama ran that day.  
But on Monday, Obama’s lead in these key battleground states shrank to 113% — or a margin of 1,528 ad units, after McCain’s campaign increased the number of TV ad units it ran in those states by 308%, to 1,353 units. 
In comparison, …