Want More Ad Gloom? Interpublic Obliges: U.S. Ads Down 4.5 Percent Next Year

At the UBS media conference, Interpublic’s (IPG) Bob Coen kicks things off with his predictions for 2009. Like his colleagues, Coen has bad news: “Not going to be a very good year next year.”

Oh, and 2008 was pretty crummy, too: Total U.S. advertising spend increased by…almost nothing, he says. Technically, that’s an increase of 0.1 percent.

For 2009:

Total U.S. advertising: Down 4.5 percent

U.S. advertising: Up five percent–note that this number excludes search.

Overseas advertising: Up 2.7 percent

Total worldwide advertising: Down 0.3 percent

Bear in mind, as The Wall Street Journal’s Emily Steel points out, that these numbers are more optimistic than Wall Street’s estimates.