Despite a fragile economy, consumers will continue to see alcoholic beverages as an affordable indulgence according to Richard Hurst, senior vice president, Beverage Alcohol, The Nielsen Company. “Historical, as well as more recent consumer trends, indicate that alcoholic beverages are much more recession-resistant than many other product categories,” Hurst notes.
In its alcoholic beverage trends outlook for the 2008 holiday season, Nielsen notes a number of factors impacting consumer choices.

As Washington considers a multi-billion dollar bailout package for the American auto industry, a look at this year’s ad spending by car manufacturers provides even more evidence that Detroit is struggling.
Through July 2008, the Big Three American car manufacturers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) all showed negative advertising growth over 2007, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Ford and Chrysler each spent 22% less on advertising, while GM dropped its spending by 6%.
Compare that with the relative success of foreign automakers. Honda added the most spending in dollars over 2007 (an extra $71.5 …

RANK
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
60 MINUTES
CBS
25,104,000

2
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
18,693,000

3
CSI
CBS
19,050,000

4
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
19,272,000

5
NCIS
CBS
18,745,000

6
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
16,521,000

7
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
16,842,000

8
THE MENTALIST
CBS
16,516,000

9
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
14,902,000

10
CMA AWARDS(S)
ABC
15,905,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 10-16, 2008).

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NFL REGULAR SEASON L(49ERS/CARDINALS)
ESPN
MONDAY
11,870,000

2
JEFF DUNHAMS VERY SPECIAL
CMDY
SUNDAY
6,611,000

3
ICARLY MOVIE: GO TO JAPAN
NICK
MONDAY
4,833,000

4
HANNAH MONTANA
DSNY
SUNDAY
4,614,000

5
COLL FTBALL-SAT PRIME L(MISSISSIPPI ST/ALABAMA)
ESPN
SATURDAY
4,955,000

6
NCIS
USA
TUESDAY
4,289,000

7
SATURDAY MOVIE III (TWO MR KISSELS, THE)
LIF
SATURDAY
4,168,000

8
NFL REGULAR SEASON GAME (2008 – JETS VS. PATRIOTS)
NFLN
THURSDAY
4,411,000

9
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
MONDAY
4,596,000

10
ICARLY
NICK
MONDAY
4,094,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 10, 2008 – November 16, 2008)

Whether you voted for Barack Obama or John McCain, a recent Nielsen Homescan analysis shows notable differences in the shopping habits and holiday spending expectations of the American voter. The panel’s voting intent (55% Obama / 45% McCain) was similar to the actual nationwide election results (53% / 47%) and mirrored the state-by-state victories in all but three of the 48 contiguous states.
Travel And Spend
Nielsen Homescan panelists who favored Obama, tended to make more frequent trips across all outlets combined and in traditional retail channels, outmatched only by McCain voters …

“Quantum of Solace” acheived the best opening weekend ever for a James Bond film in North America, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film took in an estimated $70.4 million in domestic grosses over the weekend, which  exceeded even the most optimistic prerelease projections.
The family comedy “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” from DreamWorks Animation and Paramount, registered $36.1 million to land in second place over the weekend.
Overall, the weekend’s $154 million in collective boxoffice across the industry marked a 48% improvement over the same weekend last year, according to Nielsen EDI.
Below are Box …

ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for November 17, 2008. The show drew just over 19.6 million average viewers Monday night.
CBS’s “CSI: Miami” and “Two And A Half Men” rounded out the top three with 15.5
and 15.2 million average viewers respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
19,631,000

2
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
15,464,000

3
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
15,184,000

4
WORST WEEK
CBS
10,236,000

5
SAMANTHA WHO?
ABC
10,229,000

6
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
9,993,000

7
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
9,764,000

8
BOSTON LEGAL
ABC
8,081,000

9
HEROES
NBC
7,646,000

10
CHUCK
NBC
6,889,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 17, 2008).

Overall, ABC won the night with an average audience of almost …

Once considered a lower-price, lower-quality substitute for name brands, private label products, or store brands, are viewed positively by the majority of U.S. consumers. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of American consumers believe that private label products are good alternatives to name brands according to a new survey by The Nielsen Company. The survey indicates that an improved sense of quality is likely a driving factor for consumers’ positive attitude toward private label products. Sixty-three percent of consumers believe that the quality of the private label brand is as good as name …

It’s time for that lesser-known American holiday tradition: the holiday food advertising bonanza — when ads for Thanksgiving staples, like stuffing mixes, pie crusts, gravy mixes, and cranberry sauces, crowd onto the media landscape.
In 2007, ad spending for stuffing mixes increased 10,800% from the late summer months (Q3 2007: $45,180) to the fall (Q4 2007: $4.9 million).
During the same time frame, ad spending on products within the Pie Crust category grew from literally nothing (Q3 2007: $0) to $3.3 million.
Meanwhile, ad spending within the Gravy Mix category grew from nothing …

CBS’s “Ghost Whisperer” and “Numb3rs” were the number one and number two-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Friday, November 14, 2008.
ABC’s “Barbara Walters Special” rounded out the top three with approximately 8.1 million average viewers, respectively.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
GHOST WHISPERER
CBS
11,575,000

2
NUMB3RS
CBS
9,285,000

3
BARBARA WALTERS SP-11/14(S)-11/14/2008
ABC
8,054,000

4
PRICE IS RIGHT: TROOPS(S)-11/14/2008
CBS
7,097,000

5
SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER
FOX
5,414,000

6
DEAL OR NO DEAL-FRI
NBC
5,304,000

7
DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS
FOX
5,134,000

8
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE FRI
UNI
4,855,000

9
SUPERNANNY
ABC
4,848,000

10
CUIDADO CON EL ANGEL FRI
UNI
4,579,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 14, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 9.3 million viewers, while ABC took second place with almost 5.8 million average …