The top 10 advertising categories account for almost 80 percent of total ad spending, with the largest category, pharmaceuticals and health products, increasing 2 percent.  Categories showing the strongest growth were business/industrial/agriculture (50%), clothing & accessories (45%) and foods (32%).  No category showed a decline, although telecommunications recorded no growth on a year-to-year basis.

The top 10 products advertised represented 9.3 percent of all main media ad spending in 2008.  Olay was the top advertiser, with a spend 43 percent higher than the next largest spender, KFC.

Hong Kong also showed solid growth in ad spend in 2008, up 10 percent from 2007, although growth came to almost a standstill in the fourth quarter as the economic downturn took hold.  Newspapers still accounted for the highest share of ad spending – 34 percent – followed by TV at 30 percent.  Meanwhile, radio enjoyed the highest growth, up 54 percent from the previous year, though it still accounted for just 5 percent of ad spending.

The leading category of advertiser in terms of spend was retail, which recorded an 11 percent increase for the year.  Toiletries showed the most impressive growth at 20 percent, while property posted the largest decline at -16 percent.    The lead advertiser in 2008 was Bit Sau Jim Beauty Centre – Slimming, finishing the year 30 percent ahead of second-ranked Park N Shop.

Meanwhile, the advertising environment in Taiwan was a bit gloomier, recording a 7 percent decrease in spending on a year-to-year basis and the second largest decline of the 12 countries Nielsen measures.  The first half of the year saw no growth, while the second half recorded quarterly declines (-6.8% in Q3 and -16.9% in Q4).

The top ad category in spending terms was architecture, which posted a 17 percent decline for the year.  Only two categories recorded growth: foodstuffs (6%) and computers & accessories (5%). The leading advertiser was Tsann Kuen Trans-Nation Group, a consumer electronics retailer, followed by Elife Mall.

“The Olympics didn’t deliver the advertising boon everyone expected, as the bulk of China’s advertisers took an ad break during August, resulting in a monthly ad spend figure close to 2007 levels, and not much higher than in May, when the Sichuan earthquake hit and advertising was suspended for three days,” said Jed Meyer, Managing Director, Media Services, Nielsen Greater China.

Television took 83 percent of the total spend, with newspapers and magazines taking 15 and 2 percent respectively.

Medicine/health care products was the top category advertised, followed by cosmetics, beverages, commerce/industry and food products. Tourism advertising jumped 56 percent in the year, due mostly to the Olympics.

The top five brands advertised in 2008 were:

1)      Olay

2)      KFC

3)      Sanjing Pharmaceutical

4)      L’Oreal

5)      China Mobile

Read the full press release here.

Sports metaphors in politics and the intermingling of the two genres are nothing new: retired athletes fill the halls of congress, Presidents throw out first pitches, and Championship teams visit the White House. However, President-elect Barack Obama utilized Sports Programming like no candidate in history. His campaign spent an estimated $5 million on commercials during the Olympics (it also bears mentioning that Chicago’s chance of hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics received a huge boost on Tuesday Night).

Dating back to the beginning of this year, there have been 7,416 “Obama for President” commercial units in live sporting events, and 1,081 during the NFL season alone, as the Presidential race wound down. There was the “Obama Infomercial” that delayed the World Series game between the Phillies and Rays by a few minutes. According to Nielsen Media Research, 33.7% of those Obama Infomercial viewers also tuned in to watch the Phillies clinch their first Championship since 1980. [more on Obama and McCain's advertising]

Sports remains one of the last bastions of live television, giving politicians a better chance their 30-second spots aren’t bypassed in a DVR World. The huge ratings that sporting events receive also provide a platform to speak to a wide ranging constituency of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Professional leagues and sports networks welcome the election year as a new source of advertising dollars, even more critical in an economic downturn.

But the Obama campaign did more than just break out their checkbook for commercial time. A relative newcomer to many Americans back in December 2006, then Senator Obama introduced his hometown Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. That night, 11.1 million viewers watched as Obama declared “I’d like to put all the doubts to rest and announce… to all of America… that I am ready… for the Bears to go all the way!” He would later announce his political plans to go all the way in Springfield in February 2007.

It is also a prerequisite for Presidential candidates to display an athletic ability and passion for fitness and Obama had this base covered as well. In an April interview with Bryant Gumbel on HBO’s Real Sports, Obama explained his love of basketball, and the lessons it has taught him about sacrifice and team work. That episode of Real Sports was replayed on HBO 15 times for a total of 1.7 million viewers, and the segment received an additional 159,000 views on YouTube. After a long line of Presidents who are avid golfers, Obama’s frequent pickup basketball games will be one of many signs that we may have a new type of President in the making.

On Monday Night, and his last chance to address the nation before the polls opened on Tuesday, Obama (along with Senator McCain) returned to Monday Night Football, for an interview at halftime of the Steelers-Redskins game. The game was watched by 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, the second most viewed cable event of the year. Obama again utilized his change mantra, this time to champion a cause close to many sports fans, the need for a college football playoff system. We can only hope.

The Beijing Games surpassed the old record- 209 million viewers of the 1996 Games in Atlanta- on Saturday night. Through Saturday, 211 million viewers had watched at least some of the Games on any of NBC Universal’s networks.

On Saturday, 43 million viewers tuned in to at least a portion of NBC’s coverage. The average audience from 9 to 11 p.m. on Saturday night was 16.5 million. Typically, the Games had attracted 27 million or more viewers per night leading up to Saturday.

The story noted that one McCain ad attacking Obama aired last Friday during the Olympics opening ceremony’s “parade of nations” — a procession of smiling athletes. 

According to Nielsen, that ad accounted for 30 seconds of the total 35 minutes of commercials that aired on NBC’s U.S. broadcast of the opening ceremony.

View Nielsen’s advertising data round-up for the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

For the first time since the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, commercial time was down — from 43 minutes and 55 seconds during 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Torino and 40 minutes during the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Overall Commercial Minutes
35 minutes (includes 5 min/40 sec of promos)

Top Advertisers: Parent Companies
1. Exxon Mobil Corp.: 150 seconds (2 min/30 sec)
2. McDonald’s Corp.: 120 seconds (2 min)
3. Visa International: 120 seconds (2 min)
4. Coca Cola Co.: 90 seconds (1 min/30 sec)
5. Johnson & Johnson: 90 seconds (1 min/30 sec)
6. General Electric Co.: 90 seconds (1 min/30 sec)

Top Advertisers: Brands
1. Exxon Mobil Corp.: 150 seconds (2 min/30 sec)
2. Visa: 120 seconds (2 min)

Top Advertising Categories
1. General Corporate Advertising: 305 seconds (5 min/5 sec)
2. Autos/Trucks: 210 seconds (3 min/30 sec)
3. Restaurant-Quick Service: 150 seconds (2 min/30 sec)

Miscellaneous
*One campaign ad from John McCain
*Promos for two new fall shows:
   – “My Own Worst Enemy” (staring Christian Slater)
   – “Kath & Kim” (staring Molly Shannon & Selma Blair)

Viewing the Commercials
To view commercials that aired during the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, visit Nielsen’s Event*Views website at https://www.nielsenmedia.com/monitorplus/specialevents. 

Commercials and P2+ Minute ratings for the opening ceremony will be posted Tuesday, August 12, 2008.