For brand advertising, it’s been the decade of the gecko.
Geico and its hardworking spokes-creature over the past decade climbed into the top spot for brands based on U.S. measured-media spending, up from No. 10 in 2009.
The lizard hasn’t been lounging. Measured-media spending for the Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurance brand totaled $1.5 billion in 2018 and an eye-popping $10.7 billion over the past 10 years, according to Ad Age Datacenter’s analysis of spending data from Kantar.
Amazon moved into prime time over the past decade, vaulting to the No. 2 advertised brand in 2018—and the only retailer in the top 10. Amazon didn’t make Ad Age’s list of the 200 most-advertised brands in 2009.
Insurance brand Progressive came in third place in 2018 among advertised brands, up from No. 33 in 2009.
Apple over the past decade jumped to No. 6 in brand spending from No. 47 in 2009, back when iPhone was a relative newcomer (introduced in 2007) and iPad hadn’t yet debuted (introduced in 2010).
Some big brands keep plugging away. Verizon and AT&T led the ranking a decade ago and still appear among the 10 biggest spenders, though their brand measured spending has fallen sharply as the wireless phone market matures. Sprint fell out of the top 10. T-Mobile, which has a pending deal to buy Sprint, moved into the top 10.
Ford, General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet and McDonald’s ranked among the 10 most-advertised brands both then and now.