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Comcast tops U.S. as biggest advertiser, Ad Age says

Comcast beats P&G in ad dollars spent, the trade publication says. The trend is toward more ads on the internet and flat TV spending.

Xfinity Internet recently promoted its one-gig super-fast broadband service by spoofing a scene from The Fate of the Furious, a movie from Comcast-owned Universal.
Xfinity Internet recently promoted its one-gig super-fast broadband service by spoofing a scene from The Fate of the Furious, a movie from Comcast-owned Universal.Read moreComcast

Advertising Age has named Comcast Corp. the nation's leading advertiser in 2016, spending $5.6 billion.

No. 2 was Procter & Gamble, whose big-time brands include Bounty paper towels, Head & Shoulders shampoo, Pampers diapers, and Crest toothpaste, at $4.3 billion.

Comcast's top ranking in "total ad spending" reflects the broad portfolio of consumer and entertainment products that Philadelphia-based Comcast now peddles to American consumers — from Xfinity internet services to Universal animated films and theme park attractions. The $5.6 billion expenditure includes both "measured advertising" on television and print, and other promotions, Ad Age says.

Indeed, today, big media companies such as Comcast and the Walt Disney Co. could be considered giants, marketing themselves with TV broadcast and cable networks and movies.

Disney ranked No. 16 with expenditures of $2 billion in 2016.

21st Century Fox, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, ranked No. 24.

Comcast executives were not available for comment on Monday.

In addition to Comcast and Procter & Gamble, the big U.S. advertisers in Ad Age's top 10 were General Motors, $3.8 billion; AT&T, $3.6 billion; Nestle, $2.8 billion; Verizon Communications, $2.7 billion; American Express, $2.7 billion; Amazon, $2.6 billion; Ford, $2.3 billion; and JPMorgan Chase, $2.2 billion.

The Ad Age report noted that companies spent almost $200 billion on advertising in 2016. And yes, you did see a lot of the Geico lizard. Geico was the most heavily promoted single brand, supported by $1.4 billion in advertising.

Automakers advertised the most as a sector, spending $15 billion. But Tesla — the electric-car company — didn't advertise at all.