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　　当被问及白天在麦迪逊大道上冥思苦想如何向家庭主妇推销肥皂和香烟，到了晚上如何入眠时，电视剧《广告狂人》(Mad Men)中的平凡主角唐•德雷柏(Don Draper)答道：“躺在金钱铺就的床上。”要是如今广告界的床榻还这么舒适就好了。
　　Asked how he could sleep at night after spending his days on Madison Avenue dreaming up ways to sell housewives soap flakes and cigarettes, Don Draper, anti-hero in the 1960s-based television drama Mad Men, replied: “On a bed made of money.” If only adland’s mattresses were as comfy today.
　　正如WPP首席执行官马丁•索雷尔爵士(Sir Martin Sorrell)昨日所言，世界或许已避免了一场金融“末日”。但他找不出庆祝的理由。这家全球最大的广告公司不仅上半年利润下滑47%，而且预计明年的收入也不会好于今年。尽管明年会有一系列事件，如足球世界杯和美国中期选举，它们通常会拉动广告支出。即使是上述黯淡的预测可能也过于乐观。WPP旗下的媒体投资集团群邑(GroupM)预测，明年全球媒体支出将再度下滑1.4%。
　　The world may have avoided a financial “apocalypse”, as Sir Martin Sorrell put it yesterday. Yet the chief executive of WPP sees little reason to celebrate. Not only did the world’s biggest ad agency report a 47 per cent fall in first-half profits; revenues next year are expected to be no better than this year’s. That is in spite of a run of events that usually boost ad spending, such as the soccer World Cup and US mid-term elections. Even that glum forecast may be too optimistic. GroupM, WPP’s media buying group, forecas:天译时代翻译培训网ts worldwide media spending will slip another 1.4 per cent in 2010.
　　与WPP相比，美国奥姆尼康(Omnicom)和法国阳狮集团(Publicis)的看法较为乐观。上月，在上半年营收下降9%之后，这两家公司声称，广告收入下滑之势已然见底。但见底回升是一回事，复苏则是另一回事。
　　WPP’s view is in contrast to the more hopeful beliefs of US-based Omnicom and France’s Publicis. They called a bottom to falling ad revenues last month after their first-half sales dropped by as much as 9 per cent. But bottoming out is one thing, recovery another.
　　另一个风险在于，经济衰退加快了人们对广告业态度的转变。宝洁(Procter & Gamble)等大型广告客户正以形势低迷为由，迫使广告公司让步。店内促销正逐渐活跃起来。可口可乐(Coca-Cola)等一些公司正从预付广告费，转变为按广告效果付费的方式。远在衰退之前，谷歌(Google)和星巴克(Starbucks)等公司就在不借助广告公司的情况下，建立起了强大的品牌。
　　A further risk is that the recession accelerates the shift in attitudes towards the industry. Big advertisers, such as Procter & Gamble, are using the slump to wring concessions from agencies. In-store promotions are gaining ground over campaigns. Some companies, such as Coca-Cola, are switching from retainers to performance-based compensation. And long before the downturn, the likes of Google and Starbucks built big brands without ad agencies.
　　这一切都在挤压利润。WPP上半年的营运利润率从15%左右降至10%以内。马丁爵士认为，通过采取成本控制措施，WPP有望在年底前重新提高盈利能力。不过，在经济复苏立足未稳之际，光靠醇酒和巧言，恐怕不足以说服营销主管们重新开始掏钱。
　　All this adds to the squeeze on profits; WPP’s operating margin dropped from the mid-teens to single digits in the first half. Sir Martin believes cost controls will help the agency reclaim this lost profitability by the end of the year. Still, while the recovery remains shaky, it will take more than stiff drinks and a smooth pitch to convince marketing bosses to open their wallets and spend again.

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