From The Wall Street Journal. Full story here

Hits and Misses From Madison Avenue

Madison Avenue is closing out a year that saw corporate America begin to once again spend on advertising, following deep and painful cuts to budgets during the recession.

A faster-than-expected recovery was fueled in large part by the return of auto ads and a robust political ad market.

While the ad business hasn't fully bounced back to pre-recession levels, ad giants such as WPP PLC and Interpublic Group of Cos. are once again in hiring mode after slashing thousands of jobs in 2009.

Their clients, meanwhile, seeking to gain market share after a tough downturn, have spent much of 2010 blanketing the airwaves, mobile devices, the Web and the streets with zany and loud promotions. After seeing U.S. ad spending plunge 16% to $148.3 billion in 2009, ad expenditures this year are expected to increase 2.2% to $151.5 billion, according to ZenithOptimedia, an ad-buying firm owned by Publicis Groupe SA.

Most marketers this year worked to amplify their ads through savvy use of Twitter, YouTube and other social-media services, generating buzz—both good and bad.

Media companies and ad executives say the ad spending growth will continue in 2011 but the year will likely bring significant changes as companies continue to shift money to digital advertising. Companies also will continue to add new technologies to their pitches as a way to get their promotions to stand out. Watch for digital billboards that use facial-recognition technology to help companies serve up relevant ads to a person and TV commercials that will ask couch-potatoes to click their remote controls to learn more about a product.