The Leading National Advertisers in 2021 scored the second-biggest spending gain on record, an extraordinary turnaround from the pandemic plunge in 2020.
Spending has continued to grow in 2022, though budgets could come under pressure as marketers grapple with inflation, rising interest rates and slumping consumer confidence amid escalating expectations of a recession.
The top 200 U.S. advertisers increased ad and marketing services spending in 2021 by 19.7% to a record $196 billion.
The top 100—the true blue chips of brands and budgets—boosted spending 19.5%. That’s just below the 20.0% growth for the top 100 seen in 1976, which was the fastest growth since Ad Age began producing this annual report in 1956.
Ad spending for the top 100 U.S. advertisers jumped 19.5% in 2021, just below the all-time high of 20% reported in Ad Age’s 1977 Leading National Advertisers report based on spending growth in 1976.
The spending resurgence in 2021 followed a 7.5% drop for the top 100 in 2020, which was the second-sharpest spending cut (behind 2009’s 10.2% decline) since Ad Age began the report.
Among the top 200 advertisers, 166 increased ad spending in 2021. Among the 100 biggest advertisers, 83 boosted spending.
Among 181 marketers from the list for which Ad Age had three years of comparable U.S. spending figures, 131 companies spent more in 2021 than they did in pre-pandemic 2019.
The upward trend for ad spending tracks with agency revenue. In its latest Agency Report, Ad Age found U.S. revenue for agencies jumped 13.5% in 2021, the highest growth rate since 2000. That came after agency revenue tumbled 6.8% in 2020, the second-biggest drop since Ad Age started the Agency Report in 1945. The sharpest decline for agencies (-7.5%) came in 2009 amid the Great Recession.
Top 200’s 2021 total U.S. ad spending
Number of top 200 that increased ad spending in 2021
Highest 2021 U.S. ad spending growth among top 200
Job cuts in June 2022 as crypto firm’s CEO Brian Armstrong said "we appear to be entering a recession"
Marketers with 2021 total U.S. ad spending greater than $1 billion
Most-advertised brand, 2021 U.S. measured-media spending
Zenith’s U.S. forecast, double the internet’s share in 2016
GroupM’s U.S. estimate, excluding political advertising
GroupM’s U.S. forecast, excluding political advertising
GroupM’s U.S. forecast, excluding political advertising
More takeaways from Ad Age’s annual report on marketers and marketing:
The top of the list—the 10 biggest U.S. advertisers in 2021—includes nine marketers that made the year-ago top 10.
AT&T moved down the ranking, dropping to No. 14 from No. 3, after it divested WarnerMedia and DirecTV. Warner Bros. Discovery, formed by the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, debuts as the No. 7 advertiser. DirecTV Entertainment Holdings, now a standalone company, came in No. 142.
Amazon led the ranking for the third consecutive year, becoming the first advertiser to have estimated U.S. spending above $10 billion.
Amazon’s scale is remarkable: Its estimated U.S. spending last year soared by $3.6 billion or 53%. If Amazon’s increase were a standalone advertiser, the increase would rank as the nation’s sixth-largest advertiser.
Tales from the crypto: Coinbase Global’s stock has tumbled 84% since the company went public in April 2021.
The ranking of marketers with the sharpest U.S. ad spending increases is testament to what is hot.
Or what was hot. Coinbase Global’s estimated ad spending vaulted 1,085% in 2021, and the crypto exchange increased spending in this year’s first quarter (including a Super Bowl spot). But then came a super bust in crypto, leading to an 18% staff cut this month as Coinbase reduces costs.
The tally of marketers with big boosts in budgets includes three sports betting and gaming players—Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International (BetMGM) and Flutter Entertainment (FanDuel).
The list of marketers with big spending increases also includes two luxury purveyors—Compagnie Financière Richemont (Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels) and Chanel—that more than doubled estimated U.S. spending amid a post-lockdown resurgence in the haute business of bauble.
Ad Age assigned each of the top 200 advertisers to a category based on the marketer’s primary advertised product or service. Aggregate ad spending for the Leading National Advertisers rose in all categories, with the biggest gain—97%—coming from six travel marketers as consumers emerged from their COVID cocoons.
The ranking of 200 advertisers includes 24 entertainment and media firms that together boosted 2021 U.S. spending by 32%, with hefty spending by content marketers including Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, up 63% and 62%, respectively.
Among 21 entertainment and media firms for which Ad Age had three years of comparable U.S. spending figures, 17 spent more in 2021 than in pre-pandemic 2019.
The top 200 ranking’s 32 retailers increased spending 31%, with a notable rebound at some legacy brick-and-mortar merchants (TJX Cos., up 71%; Macy’s, up 40%; and Gap, up 37%). Among those 32 retailers, 26 spent more in 2021 than in 2019.
The top 200 list includes 32 financial services firms that increased spending 21% in 2021. Among those 32 companies, 20 spent more in 2021 than in pre-pandemic 2019.
The ranking of the top 200 U.S. advertisers includes 34 companies born on the internet (for example, Amazon, Alphabet, Carvana and Expedia) or focused on the internet (for example, Caesars and MGM, whose marketing spending is heavily weighted toward online sports betting and gaming).
Spending for those 34 marketers jumped 50.0% in 2021, far above the 14.6% increase for the remaining 166 marketers.
Of the 34 internet-centric ventures, 32—all except online retailer Wayfair and e-commerce marketplace ContextLogic (Wish)—increased spending. But the internet cohort by no means moves in lockstep.
Consider FANG, a group of high-profile internet stocks—Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet—that investors often have lumped together.
Estimated 2021 U.S. ad and promotion spending for Amazon and Alphabet jumped 53% and 44%, respectively, while Meta’s U.S. ad spending jumped 29%.
But Netflix’s estimated marketing outlays rose just 8% amid a torrent of marketing from streaming rivals including Warner Bros. Discovery, Walt Disney Co., Paramount, Amazon, Apple and Comcast Corp.
Ad forecasters predict U.S. ad spending will grow in 2022 and 2023 despite economic headwinds and talk of a looming recession.
WPP’s GroupM (This Year Next Year, June 2022) forecasts U.S. ad growth, including political ads, of 12.8% in 2022 (with a surge in midterm elections spending) and 2.6% in 2023. Factoring out political ads, GroupM forecasts U.S. ad growth of 9.3% in 2022 and 6.0% in 2023.
Publicis Groupe’s Zenith (Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, June 2022) predicts U.S. major media spending growth of 11.6% in 2022, boosted by the Winter Olympics and political spending, and 4.5% in 2023.
Spending for media and entertainment companies is growing. First-quarter 2022 worldwide sales-and-marketing spending rose 41%, 29% and 16% at DraftKings, Alphabet and Meta, respectively, vs. the same period a year ago. Comcast boosted first-quarter advertising, marketing and promotion spending by 28%.
Travel spending continues to grow amid a recovery in leisure and business travel, with a 149% increase in first-quarter marketing spending at Booking Holdings (Booking.com, Priceline).
There are caution signs in financial services. LoanDepot last year boosted ad and marketing spending 77%, but it cut first-quarter spending 7% amid rising interest rates and slumping demand for mortgages (and a plunging stock price, which is down 96% from its 2021 post-initial public offering peak). Mortgage provider Rocket Cos. last year increased ad and marketing spending 32%, but first-quarter spending edged up just 2%.
Insurance venture SelectQuote raised ad and marketing spending 7% in the first three months of 2022—after doubling spending in fiscal 2021. Insurer Progressive Corp. cut first-quarter ad spending 8% following a 1.7% reduction in 2021.
One financial firm is charging ahead: Capital One Financial Corp. in 2021 increased estimated U.S. marketing spending by 83%. In first-quarter 2022, Capital One’s marketing spending rose again—by another 83%.
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