If It Seemed Like VW Ads Were Everywhere In 2015, You Were Right

Now we know, it wasn't anyone's imagination; Volkswagen outspent all other automakers in its 2015 ad budget so they were everywhere.

If it seemed like Volkswagen ads were everywhere this year, you were 100 percent right; they were everywhere. Europe’s largest automaker also led automotive advertising spending. The VW Group led automotive spending on Advertising Age’s 2016 list of top 100 advertising spenders worldwide.

And, 15 automakers, plus Bridgestone Corp., the tire manufacturer, made up the automotive category of the World Largest Advertisers list. Seven automakers also made it to the top 25 on their own, according to Advertising Age.

General Motors Was Second

Volkswagen ranked four on the big spenders list; its ad spending in 2015 totaled $6.6 billion. General Motors, number six on the list, spent $5.1 billion in 2015, followed by Daimler AG, whose $5 billion ad campaign put it in a strong seventh place, overall (third in the automotive world).

Ford, number 11 on the spending list, laid out $4.3 billion, while Toyota Motors was next wth $4.1 billion. They were fourth and fifth solely on automotive terms for 2015.

Fiat Chrysler Autos – number 14 on the overall spending list -- spent $3.9 billion on its global advertising efforts, while BMW Group, numbers six and seven in the automotive-only world, spent $3.1 billion to take 25th position.

In total, the automotive category spent more than all other categories on the spending list. The industry’s combined total of $47 billion accounted for fully one-fifth of the top 100 companies’ total ad spending of $240.5 billion.

The number-two category, personal care, and household products, spent $45.7 billion. This group includes such well-known firms as Procter & Gamble Co. – ranked number 1 on the top-spenders list – and Unilever, number 2.

Here are some other interesting statistics:

• Geographically, the U.S. accounted for 46 of the world’s top ad-spenders
• The 46 top spenders accounted for $115.2 billion in 2015 spending
• The next-closest nation was Germany whose total spending was $28.9 billion, among its 10 spenders on the list.

German Automakers Big Spenders

Automotive firms accounted for three of Germany’s top four companies on the top 25 list.

This year marks the 19th year that the World Largest Advertisers list has appeared in Advertising Age’s Global Marketers Report. The first report was published in 1987. According to Advertising Age, the rankings were based on the publication’s data center estimates and public ad-spending materials.

Source: Automotive News