Allocation of U.S. Advertising Expenditures Total U.S. : $264 billion Total of Top 10 Excluding the U.S.: $130 billion About half of global advertising expenditures occur in the U.S. Advertising Exposure in the United States TV Advertising Exposure Annually Children (Ages 2-11): 25,600 ads, or 10,700 minutes (over 7 days) Adults: 52,500 ads, or 22,300 minutes (over 15 days) Thus a typical American will spend over three years of his or her life watching TV ads. Source: Childrens Exposure to TV Advertising in 1977 and 2004, Federal Trade Commission, June Total Commercial Message Exposure Very broad range: From around 200 per day up to 3,000 or more. Effects Associated with TV Watching Each hour of TV watching per week reduces annual savings by $208. (The Overspent American) Hours of TV watched per week positively correlated with higher materialism scores. (Journal of Consumer Research 32: ) Heavy TV watchers are more likely to overstate prevalence of crime and frequency of certain professions such as doctor and lawyers. (Journal of Consumer Research 24(4): ) Heavy TV watchers are more likely to overstate prevalence of luxury, such as having servants, owning a swimming pool, belong to a country club, travel abroad, etc. (Journal of Consumer Research 23: ) TV watching linked to obesity and attention deficit in children and obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in adults. (Various studies) Ads and Eating Disorders 5-10% of post-puberty girls and women struggle with an eating disorder (only about 1% of men). Americans spend about $50 billion annually on diet products (nearly $200 per capita) The average American woman is 5'4" tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5'11" tall and weighs 117 pounds. Anorexia kills about 17,000 people each year in the U.S.