• by August 2, 2000

The Olympics, much like the Super Bowl, have become as much of a commercial event as it is a sporting event. Advertisers spend heavily to reach as many people in this two-week period as possible. While the summer games are a couple of months away, September 15 to October 1, here is some historical data on network television ad spending during the Olympics, courtesy of Competitive Media Reporting.

Advertising History of the Summer Olympic Games

1984 ADVERTISER RANKED (000) 1 MCDONALDS CORP 32,840.0 2 COCA-COLA CO 29,875.0 3 SEARS ROEBUCK & CO 27,025.0 4 ANHEUSER-BUSCH COS 23,525.0 5 PHILIP MORRIS COS INC 21,800.0 6 NISSAN MOTOR CO LTD 17,090.0 7 GENERAL MOTORS CORP 16,900.0 8 LEVI STRAUSS & CO 16,435.0 9 AT&T CORP 13,590.0 10 EASTMAN KODAK CO 11,810.0 10 KELLOGG CO 11,810.0 TOP 10 TOTAL 222,700.0 TOTAL - ALL 455,272.4

1988 ADVERTISER RANKED (000) 1 GENERAL MOTORS CORP 50,065.0 2 MCDONALDS CORP 31,310.0 3 COCA-COLA CO 27,202.5 4 PHILIP MORRIS COS INC 24,955.0 5 ANHEUSER-BUSCH COS 20,305.0 6 KELLOGG CO 15,655.0 7 K MART CORP 14,492.5 8 AMERICAN EXPRESS CO 13,717.5 9 EASTMAN KODAK CO 11,470.0 10 JOHNSON & JOHNSON 11,237.5 TOP 10 TOTAL 220,410.0 TOTAL - ALL 493,958.7

1992 ADVERTISER RANKED (000) 1 GENERAL MOTORS CORP 34,164.9 2 COCA-COLA CO 32,901.2 3 MCDONALDS CORP 21,710.7 4 PHILIP MORRIS COS INC 19,437.6 5 ANHEUSER-BUSCH COS 16,324.8 6 GENERAL ELECTRIC CO 15,904.3 7 JOHNSON & JOHNSON 13,293.9 8 MARS INC 11,276.1 9 REEBOK INTL LTD 11,107.8 10 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD 10,728.0 TOP 10 TOTAL 186,849.3 TOTAL - ALL ADVERTISERS 517,107.8

1996 ADVERTISER RANKED (000) 1 COCA-COLA CO 73,645.9 2 GENERAL MOTORS CORP 54,614.4 3 ANHEUSER-BUSCH COS 48,965.8 4 MCDONALDS CORP 41,967.1 5 IBM CORP 28,731.7 6 VISA USA INC 25,181.6 7 EASTMAN KODAK CO 23,592.2 8 MCI COMMUNICATIONS 23,113.7 9 AT&T CORP 21,512.2 10 REEBOK INTL LTD 21,034.1 TOP 10 TOTAL 362,358.7 TOTAL - ALL ADVERTISERS 720,035.9