• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 29, 2011

Top executives at Interpublic and Viacom expressed little concern last week that rising commodity and oil prices would lead to companies cutting ad spending. There have suggestions the higher costs might be a particular issue in the food and packaged-goods sectors.

Coca-Cola and McDonald's have said they will raise prices for consumers to account for their higher costs.

Interpublic CEO Michael Roth assured investors: "We have not seen marketing budgets rolled back as a result" of cost inflation.

At Viacom, CEO Philippe Dauman said individual companies may be reacting to tough circumstances, but competitors are taking advantage.

Dauman told investors the scatter market remains strong. "Obviously, there [are] some pockets or individual companies," he said. "We're looking at the environment more cautiously, based on their individual circumstances. But what we're seeing is that their competitors are stepping in to grab market share."

The Japanese earthquake and tsunami could be another issue, as shipments of parts have affected the auto and technology sectors. Roth said the impact will be "difficult to forecast."

"But we have not seen any material budget adjustments to date," he said. "And should they occur, we believe they would be more a matter of timing rather than permanent reductions."