Many economists believe that Asia has been at the forefront of the global economic recovery, and new research from The Nielsen Company indicates that in terms of advertising spend, the recovery is in full swing in a large part of the region.

The Nielsen Company reported today that U.S. advertising for the first quarter 2009 was down 12% compared to the first quarter 2008. Preliminary figures show that U.S. ad expenditures declined $3.8 billion to a total spend of $27.9 billion in the first quarter.
All measured media showed negative growth in this difficult economy, ranging from Spanish-Language Cable TV (-1.1%) to Local Sunday Supplements (-37.7%).

“These first quarter results will hardly come as a surprise to an advertising industry that’s struggling just like many other areas of the American economy,” said Annie Touliatos, …

ABC, CBS, and NBC aired almost three times more TV advertising during the Democratic National Convention than during the Republican National Convention, Nielsen Monitor-Plus reported Friday.
The three networks aired more than 36 minutes of commercials, including promotional announcements and public service announcements, during the DNC — compared with just 13 minutes of commercials during the GOP convention, according to Nielsen.
Of the three networks, CBS aired the most advertising during both conventions.

Network
# of Commercial Minutes
Democratic Convention
(mm:ss)
# of Commercial Minutes
Republican Convention
(mm:ss)

ABC
9:36
4:48

CBS
15:48
5:30

NBC
11:00
2:54

Total
36:24
13:12

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 25 – 28, 2008 and September 2 …