Upbeat on ads

ZENITH, the media planning agency, defied media wisdom by forecasting that growth in global advertising spending would accelerate.

The group, jointly owned by advertising giants Saatchi & Saatchi and Cordiant, predicted that spending on advertising would grow by 4.2 per cent next year, 5.3 per cent in 2000 and 5.8 per cent in 2001, compared to expected growth of 3.9 per cent this year.

John Perriss, Zenith chairman, said: "The message from our worldwide network is clear - advertisers feel good about the future."