Advertising Won’t Bounce Back Until The Second Quarter

Despite all the talk about upticks and turnaround in the U.S. advertising market, don’t hold your breath for a rebound in the first quarter of this year, a new forecast is warning. If you can hold your breath until the second quarter, on the other hand, you might be in luck.

Revenue for U.S. media suppliers will total $36.8 billion for the first quarter of 2010, according to Magna, the Interpublic Group of Cos. forecasting unit. That’s down 3% from $38 billion for the same time last year — a time that already felt pretty awful.