• by November 17, 2000

While estimated ad expenditure figures reveal web spending is continually on the rise, top companies on the Fortune 500 list aren't spending too much time trying to reach their audience via the Internet.

According to AdZone Interactive, an advertising research firm that tracks advertising on 1,300 U.S. websites making up more than 95% of all U.S. Internet advertising revenue, of the estimated $1.6 billion spent in the month of September on Internet advertising, the top 10 Fortune 500 companies contributed less than $50 million.

Walt Disney Inc., which ranks 66th on the Fortune 500 list, was the leading web advertiser among Fortune 500 companies. They spent an estimated $69.8 million advertising on-line. However, while four of the top advertisers in September ranked among the top 20 on the Fortune 500 list, only five of the top 10 companies ranked among the top 50.

General Motors Corp., the number one ranked company in America, squeaked in at number 10 among Fortune 500 web advertisers with an estimated $10.4 million spent on-line.

In contrast, seven of the Fortune Top 10 companies have spent less than $10 million for on-line advertising, while five of those companies: Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Citigroup and Boeing spent less than $1 million.

"Some of the larger companies haven't explored the value of on-line advertising. Sears.com was September's top advertiser on the web, while Wal-Mart, number two on the Fortune 500 list, spent nothing," says John Cardona, president of AdZone Interactive. "It's amazing to see the differences of who is and who isn't committed to web advertising."

Of the 10 largest companies, Wal-Mart was one of two companies not including on-line advertising in their budget; while on the opposite end of the list, AOL and Barnes and Noble Inc., ranking 337 and 443 on Fortune's list respectively, spent an estimated $49.7 million and $21.4 million for on-line advertising.