According to a report from TNS Media Intelligence, AT&T was the second biggest advertiser in the U.S. during the first quarter, runner-up to Procter & Gamble. AT&T spent $512 million during the quarter, which is down 19.2 percent from its ad spending during the same period last year. TNS claims the drop is attributable to last year's massive rebranding of SBC as AT&T. Verizon was the nation's fourth top spender on advertising with $459 million spent during the first quarter. Sprint Nextel placed in eighth place with $340 million spend on advertising. The figures include advertising on TV, the radio, magazines the Internet and other mediums.
For more on AT&T's spending:
- see this RCR article