Ad spending for cars and credit cards is behind the 8.8% growth in 2010 U.S. ad spending, the highest growth rate in seven years. Financial advertising was up 29% last year, and automotive spending
was up 28%, per Ad Age DataCenter's estimates of U.S. spending for the 12 financial firms and 10 automakers that made the 100 Leading National Advertisers. Spending the year before had dropped 10.2%,
which Ad Age said was the largest drop since it started the ranking in 1956.
And AdAge's ranking says first-quarter 2011 U.S. measured-media spending rose 4.4%, the slowest
growth since the ad upturn began in first-quarter 2010.
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