MUMBAI: Ad spend in the US for the first half of the year rose 6.4 per cent over the same period last year.

Preliminary figures released by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the advertising intelligence service of Nielsen Media Research have indicated that this was due to gains across major media

Political spending. combined with an increase from traditional advertisers helped fuel spending for the first six months of the year. The automotive category saw the largest dollar increase, as major automotive companies, such as DaimlerChrysler and Nissan Motor, continue to boost the ad economy.

First half advertising spending for the top 10 companies topped $8 billion, up 11.3 per cent on the same period last year. Nearly every advertiser experienced growth, with two of the four automotive companies, DaimlerChrysler (+55.9 per cent) and Nissan Motor (+21.3 per cent), showing the greatest increases in advertising expenditures.

Nielsen Monitor-Plus MD Jeff King said, “Advertising spending remains strong in 2004. The second half of the year will be fueled by two major events, the Summer Olympics and the presidential campaign. President Bush and senator Kerry have already placed a substantial amount of advertising on spot television in key battleground markets. In addition, independent interest groups supporting Kerry contributed a significant amount of ad support for the candidate.”