Nielsen unveiled US ad spend figures for the first half of 2010.

When compared to 2009’s ad spend figures per industry, the top spender, thus far, is the automotive industry with USD$4.4 billion spent in 2010, a 27% increase on 2009’s half yearly figure of USD$3.5 billion.

The restaurant (quick service) and pharmaceutical industries are the second and third highest spending industries for 2010, although both of their figures are down 4% from 2009’s half yearly amounts.

Industries which have witnessed an increase in ad spend in 2010 are department stores (5% increase) and auto insurance (23% increase).

In terms of 2009’s total ad spend figures, overall USD$117 billion was spent on advertising. 57% of ad spend went into television, 28% went into print media and 7% went into internet advertising spend. In 2009, 50% of television spend went to primetime television spots. The majority (54%) of all 2009 commercials used the 30-second commercial format. Although a decrease in the number of 30-second spots was recorded, with 5% less run in primetime. This left room for the 15-second spot, which saw a 6% increase in use in 2009.