Dive Brief: 

• A new report from ad-tracking firm AceMetrix says holiday ad volume is down 8.9% this year over the same point in 2012. 
• Marketers are still running ads as early as September, but the volume is down—particularly among retailers. This reason may be because Thanksgiving falls a bit later this year, so Black Friday ads have been pushed back. 
• Of the holiday ads that are running, more are what AceMetrix VP of Marketing Jonathan Symonds is calling "holiday subtle," meaning there are holiday decorations in the background, but not overt holiday themes. 

Dive Insight: 

The pullback from marketers and advertisers on holiday ad volume could be a caution to alienating shoppers with too much holiday-centric advertising. By using the "holiday subtle" approach, the advertisers can hint to viewers that they should be thinking about holiday shopping without screaming "holiday marketing" at them. The drop could be related to an overall drop in ad budgets for many companies, as well.