“The effects of the global financial crisis have certainly caught up with the ad sector in this latest quarter, especially in North America and Europe where virtually all of the territories we reported on recorded negative growth,” said Ben van der Werf, managing director, Global AdView at Nielsen.  “Even China, which usually sees a boost in ad spend during the Chinese New Year, posted subdued growth for the quarter.”

All four major media types – newspapers, magazines, TV and radio – posted drops in ad spending, with print media leading the decline.  Magazines fared the worst (-17.4%) followed by newspapers (-9.1%).   In North America, magazine ad spend was down 22.2 percent, while newspapers were off 15.6 percent.

Not surprisingly, the automotive category recorded the largest loss in ad spend – down 19.9 percent – followed by financial services (-16.7%) and clothing (-15.7%).

Read the full Global Ad Spend press release.

Strong advertising growth in the Asia-Pacific region (+7.6% over Q2 2007) drove the increase, according to data released in Nielsen’s latest Global AdView Pulse report.

Ad spending trends worldwide showed significant variations — with overall advertising declines recorded in North America (-1%) and Europe (-3%).

In North America, U.S. ad spending was down by approximately 6%, compared with the same period last year, while ad spending in Canada grew slightly (+1.7%).

In Europe, the drop in ad spending affected all industry sectors and all media — except radio, which rose by almost 1% during the second quarter of this year.

In Asia Pacific, all four major media types (TV, magazines, newspapers, and radio) grew over Q2 2007, despite the detrimental effects of the May 2008 earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province, the Japanese recession, and general softening of the economy.  Of the twelve Asia-Pacific countries Nielsen tracks, only Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan showed declines in second quarter ad spending.

Globally, most industry sectors showed increased ad spending in Q2 2008, as compared with Q2 2007 spending.  The Automotive, Telecommunications, Financial, and Durables categories, which recorded decreased advertising investment in the second quarter of this year, were the only exceptions to that trend.

Among the mediums tracked by Nielsen – television, print, radio, outdoor, cinema, and Internet (where available) — TV showed growth (+3.8%), while all other media recorded ad spending declines.

Nielsen’s report is based on advertising data from 28 markets in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America.

View the full press release.