Advertising spend in the UK fell by 4 per cent last year to £18.6 billion, according to new figures from the Advertising Association (AdAssoc). The previous year saw spend grow by 4 per cent, a release from the association adds.

The newly released figures suggest the press is still the largest medium in terms of spend, attracting 37 per cent (£6,812,000 million) of total expenditure. However, this was an 11.8 per cent drop compared with the 2007’s stats for press ad spend.

Only the internet (19.1 per cent) and cinema (1 per cent) showed year-on-year growth in ad spend from 2007 to 2008.

The graph below shows the proportion of total ad spend by medium: