Ad spending decline was just 2.6% in 2008

U.S. advertising spending dropped 2.6% last year as the worst recession since 1982 forced automakers, movie producers and drug makers to slash marketing, researcher Nielsen Co. said Friday.

Outlays fell almost $3.7 billion from the year earlier to $136.8 billion, according to preliminary figures by New York-based Nielsen.

All of the top 10 advertisers cut their budgets last year, led by Chrysler’s majority owner, Cerberus Capital Management; Ford Motor Co.; Time Warner Inc.; and Procter & Gamble Co.

“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, vice president of sales development for 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,” she said.

Spot TV ads for the top 100 markets were little changed, and broadcast network TV ads fell 3.5%, Nielsen said.