Hasta La Creative!

Marketers spent $30.2 billion on ads in U.S. measured media during the first quarter of this year, a slight drop of 0.1% from the same period a year ago, according to data released today by Kantar Media.

The cool start comes after 2012 finished with a 3% uptick in ad spending, much of which came from advertising around the Olympics and political campaign spending — two forces that aren’t returning this year.

“It has been a lackluster start for 2013, with flat year-over-year results due in part to strong 2012 growth caused by political and Olympic ad spending,” Jon Swallen, chief research officer at Kantar Media North America, said in a statement. “Data from the early second quarter are mixed, suggesting marketers are still being cautious and conservative with ad budgets. However, there are some bright spots, including healthy growth for Hispanic media and outdoor”

Continue reading at AdAge.com