Big brands boost their advertising

This top ten listing would make a decent source for a starter activity of Business Family Fortunes. Name the top ten advertisers in the UK based on how much they spend… But the table data also highlights some interesting changes. The owners of the UK’s most popular consumer brand portfolios are well represented (Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser etc) and one of them (P&G) spent significantly more on advertising during 2010 compared with 2009 (the depth of the recent recession). Why has P&G adopted this strategy when its closest competitor (Unilever) has limited its advertising growth to just 2%? Another interesting change is the substantial reduction in public sector advertising - as the government spending cuts start to bite. The COI spend would have been a little higher if the flu vaccine television ads had been run in 2010!