About this data
Sports ad spending on the Chevrolet brand surpassed the comparable spending of Anheuser-Busch last year, according to data compiled by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, marking the first time since at least 1994 the brewery brand was not No. 1 in the annual ranking.
Nielsen Monitor-Plus is a service of Nielsen Media Research.
The totals reflect spending based on full rate-card prices during network, cable and syndicated telecasts. Anheuser-Busch had ranked No. 1 annually every year through 1995 spending, the earliest period for which spending information was available.
Chevrolet, however, has frequently ranked No. 2 to A-B, and especially in Olympic years, its spending has surged. It is not alone. Spending by companies designated as International Olympic Committee TOP sponsors or U.S. Olympic Team Partner level sponsors often increases in Olympic years.
Both Chevy parent General Motors Corp. and Anheuser-Busch are U.S. Olympic Team Partner companies, and last year featured the 2006 Torino Winter Games.
| TOP 5 |
| Ranked by percentage of total ad spending devoted to sports^ |
Rank | Company/brand | Pct. |
| 1 | Southwest Airlines Co. | 93.2% |
| 2 | NASCAR | 81.3% |
| 3 | Coors Brewing Co. | 80.9% |
| 4 | Anheuser-Busch Cos. | 77.3% |
| 5 | NFL Properties Inc. | 75.7% |
| |
| TOP 5 |
| Ranked by change in sports ad spending from 2005^ |
Rank | Company/brand | Change |
| 1 | AT&T Inc. | +768.4% |
| 2 | Lincoln-Mercury Division | +208.3% |
| 3 | Exxon Mobil Corp. | +165.6% |
| 4 | Circuit City Stores Inc. | +127.5% |
| 5 | Warner Bros. | +121.8% |
| |
| ^ Among top 50 companies for 2006 spending |
| Top 50 sports advertisers (ranked by total sports ad spending in 2006) |
| | | 2006 ad spending (000s) | | Change in sports ad spending |
Rank
(2005 rank) |
Company/brand
| Sports | Total | % of total ad spending devoted to sports (% in 2005) | vs. 2005 | vs. 2004 |
| 1 (2) | Chevrolet Motor Division | $270,797 | $443,089 | 61.1% (41.5%) | +78.4% | +23.1% |
| 2 (1) | Anheuser-Busch Cos. | $252,468 | $326,596 | 77.3% (61.1%) | +14.7% | -14.0% |
| 3 (99) | AT&T Inc.* | $145,125 | $295,864 | 49.1% (47.6%) | +768.4% | +127.3% |
| 4 (3) | Ford Motor Co. | $142,511 | $487,070 | 29.3% (30.1%) | -1.4% | -0.4% |
| 5 (4) | Sprint Nextel Corp. | $142,372 | $622,605 | 22.9% (31.8%) | +21.4% | +10.0% |
| 6 (19) | Visa International | $135,631 | $329,932 | 41.1% (25.5%) | +113.1% | -0.3% |
| 7 (7) | Verizon Communications Inc. | $126,333 | $635,801 | 19.9% (18.1%) | +36.0% | +127.0% |
| 8 (12) | Nissan North American Inc. | $119,842 | $331,119 | 36.2% (22.2%) | +59.1% | +7.8% |
| 9 (13) | McDonald’s Corp. | $118,243 | $415,411 | 28.5% (19.2%) | +60.5% | +17.1% |
| 10 (8) | Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. | $118,232 | $344,639 | 34.3% (26.3%) | +32.9% | +26.7% |
| 11 (14) | Coca-Cola USA | $110,967 | $276,132 | 40.2% (24.0%) | +56.0% | -22.3% |
| 12 (15) | Dodge Car-Truck Division | $94,044 | $202,210 | 46.5% (43.5%) | +38.6% | -7.6% |
| 13 (11) | AT&T Mobility LLC^ | $93,146 | $515,766 | 18.1% (16.1%) | +11.7% | -43.4% |
| 14 (9) | Southwest Airlines Co. | $90,601 | $97,182 | 93.2% (93.5%) | +5.9% | +15.8% |
| 15 (5) | Coors Brewing Co. | $87,641 | $108,340 | 80.9% (76.8%) | -11.7% | +6.6% |
| 16 (21) | Procter & Gamble Co. | $78,431 | $1,786,185 | 4.4% (3.3%) | +27.9% | -40.0% |
| 17 (10) | IBM Corp. | $77,604 | $109,204 | 71.1% (58.7%) | -9.2% | -26.4% |
| 18 (6) | Miller Brewing Co. | $77,526 | $119,446 | 64.9% (57.9%) | -16.5% | -41.2% |
| 19 (36) | Allstate Insurance Co. | $76,001 | $228,529 | 33.3% (18.4%) | +85.6% | +4.7% |
| 20 (42) | Home Depot Inc. | $72,248 | $264,074 | 27.4% (14.3%) | +94.3% | -5.0% |
| 21 (64) | Exxon Mobil Corp. | $69,596 | $101,844 | 68.3% (40.2%) | +165.6% | NA |
| 22 (56) | Warner Bros. | $69,460 | $395,529 | 17.6% (11.4%) | +121.8% | +23.6% |
| 23 (31) | GMC Truck Division | $67,222 | $154,646 | 43.5% (31.7%) | +39.5% | +10.3% |
| 24 (28) | Taco Bell Corp. | $66,165 | $167,791 | 39.4% (35.7%) | +28.9% | +26.3% |
| 25 (16) | State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. | $66,130 | $154,240 | 42.9% (32.5%) | +0.7% | +39.4% |
| 26 (29) | Nike Inc. | $65,372 | $128,230 | 51.0% (46.4%) | +29.7% | -9.7% |
| 27 (53) | Apple Inc. | $62,146 | $225,024 | 27.6% (30.6%) | +93.4% | +152.2% |
| 28 (24) | Subway | $61,942 | $220,870 | 28.0% (29.0%) | +12.0% | -18.2% |
| 29 (23) | MasterCard International Inc. | $61,241 | $222,030 | 27.6% (25.6%) | +8.0% | -7.2% |
| 30 (NA) | Vonage Holdings Corp. | $58,647 | $274,402 | 21.4% (NA) | NA | NA |
| 31 (37) | Pontiac Division | $58,631 | $86,774 | 67.6% (36.7%) | +43.5% | +22.9% |
| 32 (35) | Wendy’s International Inc. | $58,460 | $252,271 | 23.2% (16.9%) | +41.5% | +9.8% |
| 33 (20) | Capital One Bank | $57,954 | $253,415 | 22.9% (19.6%) | -6.6% | -35.3% |
| 34 (17) | American Honda Motor Co. | $54,349 | $177,218 | 30.7% (25.6%) | -17.1% | +13.1% |
| 35 (18) | NFL Properties Inc. | $54,017 | $71,338 | 75.7% (73.9%) | -15.5% | -3.4% |
| 36 (39) | Burger King Corp. | $53,760 | $222,035 | 24.2% (17.8%) | +36.2% | +38.2% |
| 37 (72) | Circuit City Stores Inc. | $53,599 | $138,032 | 38.8% (28.0%) | +127.5% | +127.3% |
| 38 (96) | Lincoln-Mercury Division | $52,619 | $244,592 | 21.5% (13.6%) | +208.3% | +119.5% |
| 39 (62) | DirecTV Inc. | $51,139 | $168,386 | 30.4% (20.3%) | +81.1% | +70.8% |
| 40 (61) | Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals LP | $50,459 | $207,705 | 24.3% (12.9%) | +77.3% | +49.1% |
| 41 (46) | Cadillac Motor Co. | $49,563 | $102,069 | 48.6% (36.5%) | +40.9% | -26.0% |
| 42 (NA) | Volkswagen of America Inc. | $48,880 | $162,179 | 30.1% (NA) | NA | -5.8% |
| 43 (22) | Pepsi-Cola Co. | $47,863 | $163,161 | 29.3% (26.8%) | -16.9% | -30.0% |
| 44 (52) | Best Buy Co. | $47,853 | $161,756 | 29.6% (23.4%) | +48.4% | +57.3% |
| 45 (48) | Gillette Co. | $46,911 | $162,996 | 28.8% (18.1%) | +35.2% | -32.3% |
| 46 (80) | Dell Inc. | $45,737 | $214,033 | 21.4% (9.5%) | +117.0% | NA |
| 47 (32) | Hummer Division | $45,257 | $73,219 | 61.8% (60.8%) | +2.9% | +40.8% |
| 48 (33) | Lexus Division | $45,148 | $137,840 | 32.8% (31.1%) | +8.0% | +17.5% |
| 49 (47) | NASCAR | $45,053 | $55,445 | 81.3% (81.5%) | +29.8% | +45.7% |
| 50 (51) | General Motors Corp. | $44,598 | $87,352 | 51.1% (23.5%) | +38.1% | NA |
| |
| NA: Not available |
| * AT&T in 2006 completed its acquisition of Cingular Wireless owner BellSouth. |
| ^ Compared with Cingular Wireless listings for 2005. Cingular Wireless acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004. |
| Notes: Companies and brands appear here as tracked and listed by Nielsen Media Research. Results have been rounded. |
| Sources: Nielsen Monitor-Plus, SportsBusiness Journal archives |
