P&G Topples GM, Nets Surpass Papers During Q1, Internet Continues To Rise

The nation's largest advertisers continued to build share of U.S. ad spending during the first quarter of 2006, especially its biggest. Procter & Gamble boosted ad spending 13.8 percent to $793.8 million in measured media spending during the quarter, according to estimates released this morning by TNS Media Intelligence. P&G supplanted General Motors as the top advertiser for the quarter. GM cut spending 1.9 percent to $706.0 million, amid shifts in its advertising strategy away from traditional measured media, especially television.

In fact, the Internet with a growth rate of 19.4 percent, was the fastest growing medium, according to TNS, which measures only online display advertising, excluding search.

Network TV emerged as the largest measured medium, rising 12.3 percent to $6.5 billion during the quarter, while local newspapers slid to No. 2, declining 6.1 percent to $5.6 billion.

Most of the quarter's growth came from big advertisers. The top ten boosted ad spending 6.9 percent during the quarter, while TNS estimated that total ad spending rose only 5.2 percent.

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The biggest gains came within the telecommunications category. AT&T jumped 51.0 percent, Verizon was up 19.3 percent and Spring Nextel rose 5.6 percent.

Aside from automotives, media companies were also a declining category. Time Warner dropped spending 14.0 percent, Walt Disney Co. declined 11.1 percent and News Corp. was down 11.6 percent.

Top 10, Total Q1 Ad Spending


Q1 2006 Q1 2005
(Millions) (Millions) Change
Procter & Gamble $793.8 $697.5 +13.8%
General Motors $706.0 $719.3 -1.9%
AT&T $625.1 $414.0 +51.0%
Verizon $454.9 $381.2 +19.3%
Time Warner $449.6 $522.8 -14.0%
Ford Motor Co. $410.5 $429.2 -4.3%
Walt Disney Co. $384.0 $431.8 -11.1%
General Electric $327.2 $224.3 +45.9%
Sprint Nextel $305.0 $288.8 +5.6%
News Corp. $302.5 $342.1 -11.6%
Top 10 $4,758.6 $4,450.9 +6.9%
Total $ 34,919.5 $ 33,195.5 +5.2%

Source: TNS Media Intelligence
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