The final tally for advertising’s global pandemic pullback is in: Spending for the world’s 100 biggest advertisers skidded with the second-sharpest drop in the 35 years that Ad Age has produced its global report.
But the most intriguing takeaway from the Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers ranking may be the surprising number of global advertisers that actually increased ad spending amid last year’s tumult. Spending for the world’s fifth-biggest advertiser rocketed 90% as it took advantage of market opportunities during the pandemic.
See analysis and key rankings from Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers here.
Ad Age's analysis includes an exclusive ranking of the top 25 advertisers in 2020; a ranking of advertisers with the sharpest ad spending increases and decreases; and stats about the top 100 advertisers by category, country and region.
We’ll tell you what went down in 2020 and what’s up in 2021. Our examination of year-to-date 2021 financial reports from global marketers shows a remarkable recovery in marketing underway, with double-digit spending gains in some key categories as marketers rebuild and rebound.
Want to dig deeper? Subscribe to Ad Age Datacenter to see expanded data on Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2021 at AdAge.com/globalmarketers2021.
The expanded data include:
• Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2021: Ad Age Datacenter’s exclusive ranking of the 100 biggest spenders, downloadable in Excel.
• Global marketers database: Ad spending, key agency relationships, executives and company profiles for Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers.
• Biggest advertisers by country: Rankings based on measured-media spending.
