Automotive advertising spending in the United States declined to US$1.99 billion in Q1 2008, down more than 14 percent compared with the same period last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence, eMarketer reported.

“Ad spending is sinking as fast as new car sales,” said John Swallen, senior vice president of research at TNS, in a July 2008 Detroit Free Press interview.

In the United States, automakers have traditionally been the biggest advertisers. General Motors is the fourth biggest advertiser, spending $535 million in Q1 2008, according to TNS data. However, it spent $2.1 billion last year, which was the third consecutive year with ad spending on the decline.

According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus data, total U.S. auto ad spending last year was down 10.8 percent to $12.3 billion, eMarketer reported.

The only bright spot in auto ad spending is online. Last year, Internet spending increased 57.9 percent and reached $441.6 million. According to TNS, GM's online spending alone is more than $212 million (excluding search and online video), 79 percent more than the spending in the previous year.

According to eMarketer's prediction, auto online ad spending will grow annually in the double-digits through 2012, and then exceed $5.61 billion.