• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, September 13, 2010

Ad spending in U.S. media monitored by ad tracking firm Kantar Media expanded 5.7% during the first half, and 5.4% during the second quarter of 2010, according to estimates released this morning.

Describing the ongoing momentum in advertising demand as a "rally in ad spending," Kantar Media Senior Vice President-Research Jon Swallen said the outlook remains strong, even though underlying factors such as retails sales and employment figures still look sketchy.

"Early figures from the third quarter indicate the advertising expansion is still maintaining its momentum and that is an encouraging sign for the industry," Swallen stated.

The figures show that TV led the first half rebound, especially spot TV, which surged 25.1% during the period due to demand from automotive and retail marketers, as well as cyclical demand from political advertisers.

Spanish language TV spending rose 14.6%, with gains driven by the World Cup event in June. cable TV (+ 8.8%) and network TV (+7.2%) benefitted from selling more ad time and increased spending across a broad range of retail and consumer package goods categories.

Newspaper free standing inserts (FSIs) posted the second largest growth rate among the major media sectors. Expenditures rose 7.6%percent as consumer packaged goods marketers aggressively targeted value-conscious consumers with couponing programs.

Print results were more mixed, with consumer magazine expenditures bottoming out in March and a slight "rebond" in page counts helping to push half-year spending to a 1.5% increase. Sunday magazines gained 13.1% due to additional money from prescription drug makers and home improvement retailers.

National newspaper spending climbed 7.1%, primarily from gains at the Wall Street Journal. Local newspaper spending fell 4.6%, and has declined for 19 consecutive quarters.