Unilever takes top spot from P&G in UK's top 100 advertisers

by Staff, Marketing, Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 10:20am,

LONDON - Unilever has toppled Procter & Gamble to take the number one spot for the first time in Marketing's annual list of the top 100 advertisers in the UK.

The centralisation of the FMCG giant's three divisions into a single entity, coupled with an overall 7.6% year-on-year increase, ensured that Unilever topped the list with a total media spend of over £208m in 2005, according to figures provided by Nielsen Media Research.

P&G came second in the Top 100 list with a total spend of £179.5m, a 12.6% decrease on 2004. Bernard Balderston, P&G's associate director of media, attributed the downturn to timings of category activity as opposed to a determined cut in overall spend.

P&G's recent merger with Gillette, which spent £17.9m on advertising last year, means that less than a £1m separates the total advertising spend of the top two firms going into 2006.

COI Communications maintained its third spot on this year's list, marginally increasing total to £167.2m in 2005.

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This article was first published on Marketing