While advertising as a whole took a hit in 2009, the nation’s Quick Service Restaurants ramped up spending during the year by 2% over 2008, according to The Nielsen Company.

A new analysis of multi-cultural advertising indicates that ad spending declined in Spanish-Language and African-American media.

Advertising expenditures dropped 2.6% overall last year, according to data released today by The Nielsen Company. “Given the state of the U.S. economy, a decline in ad spending was expected, but it’s not as bad as it could have been,” said Annie Touliatos, VP of Sales Development for Monitor-Plus, Nielsen’s ad tracking service. “The campaign season and the Summer Olympics were two big events that had a tremendous impact on advertising, especially on TV buys.”
The automotive industry’s ad spending fell hardest in 2008. The industry slashed its spending by almost …