Advertising is keeping pace with robust growth in the global economy despite news of debt fatigue, inflation and tighter money, according to GroupM's new global ad forecast entitled "This Year, Next Year," reports MarketingCharts.

Global ad revenue is expected to increase 6 percent in 2007 and 7 percent in 2008, but growth in the United States is expected to be half of those rates: 2.8 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, according to WPP's GroupM.

Still, in absolute terms, the US will remain the leading source of new ad dollars in 2007, it said.

Also according to the report:

• So-called Old Europe is expected to grow at a rate of 4 percent during the forecast period, but New Europe's growth is expected to be around 20 percent; led by Russia, the region is generating $19 billion in ad revenues - more than Latin America. Russia is now the world's No. 12 ad market.
• But the most growth is expected from Asia/Pacific, which is forecast to contribute 30 percent ad growth this year - and a whopping 38 percent in 2008 as Olympics-related ad demand flows into regional TV.

The GroupM report includes forecast ad revenues for all main media types and main marketing services: direct marketing, market research, public relations and sponsorship.

Marketing services are growing as fast as internet-assisted media and are almost as large; sponsorship is the fastest-growing outlet, behind the internet, according to "This Year, Next Year."

MarketingCharts provides other highlights from the GroupM report.