Big brands now spend less of their sales on advertising, but consumer goods giants spend more, WARC finds

The world’s biggest brands are spending a smaller share of their sales on advertising than they did before the pandemic. Across 25 of the largest advertisers, the ratio of ad spend to revenue fell from 6.1 per cent in 2019 to 5.5 per cent in 2025, according to WARC Media’s latest Global Ad Trends report. Ad budgets rose 56 per cent over the period, but sales rose 73 per cent, as Marketing Week reported.

Tech cut, consumer goods spent more

The fall is driven by the tech giants. Alphabet, Netflix, Meta and Microsoft cut their combined ad-to-sales ratio from 13 per cent to 7.4 per cent, while their revenue grew 146 per cent. They own enormous audiences of their own and no longer need to rent as much attention from anyone else.

Consumer goods companies went the other way. Their ad spend grew 36 per cent against 29 per cent revenue growth, and Coca-Cola, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Nike and Procter & Gamble all spent a higher share of sales on advertising in 2025 than in 2019. Had the whole group kept its 2019 ratio, WARC calculates, it would have spent another $52bn.

Why it matters

The split is the story. The brands that sell physical products on crowded shelves have decided advertising is worth more, not less, and the brands that own the platforms have decided they need it less. WARC puts the overall fall down to weaker sales, money moving into retail media, and whether companies own or rent the attention they need.

It fits the pattern of this autumn, from Nike raising brand spend as sales fall to the evidence that promotions are eating budgets. The brands that build long-term demand are spending more on it. For the wider picture, see WARC’s global spend forecast.