Advertising-related activity may have supported roughly one in five American jobs as of 2024

In 2024, global ad spend surpassed $1T for the first time

Organizations like GroupM and WARC began predicting this record high in 2023. Five large tech companies (Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Alibaba, and TikTok parent ByteDance) were predicted to account for more than half of all global ad spend in 2024.

Roughly 350,000 billboards advertise across the US

The world's oldest form of advertising can feel antiquated in a digital age, but the place-specific signs are the basis of a $9B business. Learn the history of these ads and how they remain relevant in a digital age.

In defense of the advertisement economy

Advertising is frequently reviled for how it clutters up public spaces and our everyday experiences. Nonetheless, it allows for vast amounts of goods and services to be rendered free to millions of users—and gives users the option to pay with money or time and attention.

The average American likely doesn’t notice how many ads they’re targets of per day

The average American is targeted with roughly 5,000 ads each day—but the conscious mind likely isn’t capable of recalling the majority of those. Even still, many consumers have reported ad fatigue due to the near-constant onslaught of ads.

AI is transforming the marketing and advertising industries

Many marketers argue that AI is useful in an ad agency setting. Others attribute the significant layoffs the industry has faced in recent years, at least in part, to AI. Agency leaders and big tech firms alike have supported experimenting with artificial intelligence’s capacity to create content once reserved for agency creatives.

The 1960s through 1980s are generally considered the ‘Golden Age of Advertising’

This time period spawned some of history’s most well-known ad campaigns, from "I Heart NY" to Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign. In this video from the 4As (the American Association of Advertising Agencies), advertising executive Jerry Della Femina reflects on the most creative ads of the era.

An ad agency is a firm that a company contracts to assist with marketing efforts

While some corporations have marketers and advertisers as full-time employees, others contract advertising agencies to get the work done. Ad agencies typically have a variety of departments depending on their specialty, but they often include account executives to help manage client relationships and a creative department to produce the ads.

The US restaurant industry generates over $1T in sales

In 2024, the industry brought in $1.1T, and the National Restaurant Association anticipated reaching $1.5T in 2025, numbers that are considered a return to normal after the tumultuous years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry also employs a large workforce, with over 13 million employees. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Consumer spending accounts for 70% of US GDP, making Black Friday significant

Lizabeth Cohen, a history professor at Harvard and author of the book “A Consumer's Republic: The Politics Of Mass Consumption In Postwar America,” has argued that the US government has presented consumerism as a way out of economic crisis or decline since around World War II.

YouTube occupies more US screen time than Netflix

As consumers continue to shift their viewing activity away from traditional cable and broadcast TV, they’re spending an increasing amount of time streaming content, much of it on YouTube. In fact, Nielsen data from August 2025, shows that YouTube accounted for 13.1% of US screen time, compared to Netflix’s 8.7%.

Here is a visualization of the creator economy as an ecosystem

From social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, to major advertisers paying influencers to promote their brands, to the consumers watching online content, quite a few engines have to keep firing to make the creator economy run smoothly.

Generative AI may automate nearly 10% of tasks in the US economy

This automation is expected to impact both low- and high-wage roles, with those in customer service, food service, and office support being most likely to be affected. Large-scale investments in upskilling will be necessary to help individuals find new employment opportunities.

The film industry is responsible for more than 200K jobs in California

Hollywood films generate roughly $49B for the US economy each year. In California, the film industry provides more than 200,000 jobs. Industry employees were paid more than $42B in wages in 2022.

American CEOs getting super rich has a lot to do with stock buybacks

In 1965, the pay gap between American CEOs and their workers was roughly 15-to-1. But by 2018, that ratio had ballooned to 220-to-1.

How the National Science Foundation supports the US economy

The NSF has filled funding gaps in the research and development of products developed in the private sector, particularly when the research requires more than three years to complete. These investments, including in startups such as Qualcomm and Symantec, have supported job creation, generated economic returns, and helped build the technologies many industries rely upon, such as the internet.

American beer, by the numbers

This statistics-focused resource breaks down the shape of the beer industry in the US, outlining the amount of beer produced by American breweries, the state cranking out the most beer, and the states with the most breweries per capita.

Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign sparked conversations about beauty standards in media

For the 20-year anniversary of the campaign in 2024, Dove conducted a brand-commissioned study to gauge how perceptions of beauty standards have shifted since its launch. While 81% of US women thought “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve” in 2004, the share had shrunk to 69% in 2024. Watch the ad here.

The US loses roughly $400B a year in productivity due to sleep deprivation

For an article about a woman who built a business empire telling bedtime stories, the Hustle created this graphic showing the estimated GDP loss associated with chronic insomnia. The United States had a much more significant loss than other countries.

Advent calendars have become a major seasonal driver for brands

Companies now treat Advent calendars as key holiday products, expanding production as demand surges across categories. Retail data shows beauty and self-care calendars consistently rank among the most popular, as some brands report selling out yearly, and retailers order months in advance.

Explore an interactive tool that reveals why Americans are unemployed

Among unemployed Americans ages 25 to 54, almost 30% cited being laid off as the reason for their unemployment.

The NFL makes most of its money through media licensing deals

The NFL, which reportedly earned more than $20B in 2023, generates its revenue through several key streams. The largest comes from media licensing deals, where networks and streaming platforms pay billions for the rights to broadcast games. Corporate sponsorships are another major contributor.

S&P Global, the company that makes the S&P 500, is listed on the S&P 500

When the S&P 500 index was released in 1957, it was helpful for investors, but not necessarily profitable. S&P Global now makes more than $1B a year just from selling its index data. Alongside its other services, like credit ratings, S&P Global makes more than $14B a year.

Visualizing the economic impacts of 5G

5G is set to revamp industries around the world, but the benefits may not be equally distributed. This nifty graphic illustrates what the global landscape may look like in 2035.

Americans are historically more supportive of free speech than people in most other countries

A 2016 survey of 38 countries found that the US scored highest in support for free expression, with 71% of Americans saying people should be able to say what they want without government censorship, more than in any other nation surveyed.

In 2024, the US committed about $82.3B to foreign aid.

That year, 67.2% of foreign aid was for economic purposes, and the remaining 32.8% was for military purposes. Israel received more US foreign aid than any other country in 2024.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.