The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) said advertising spend on the Web proved resilient to the economic downturn, growing 17.1 percent on a like-for-like basis to 3.35 billion pounds ($4.80 billion) as advertisers looked for greater accountability.* Web overtakes UK press display advertising* Overall advertising down 3.5 pct* Total market falls to 17.5 billion pounds* Web advertising hits 3.35 billion pounds* Marketers pressured to show ad spend effectivenessThe research, carried out with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC), said the online platform was the only advertising medium to show strong growth. Total UK advertising spend fell to 17.5 billion pounds."These are really tough times and advertising budgets are being slashed," IAB Chief Executive Guy Phillipson said in a statement. "More than ever, marketers have to demonstrate a clear return on their media investment, and accountability is online's trump card."In the second half of 2008, online advertising, which was the smallest medium in 2002, peaked with a share of all advertising spend at 19.8 percent, overtaking total press display which accounts for all UK newspaper and magazine advertising combined.Much more ...