Procter & Gamble slashes US TV advertising

Procter & Gamble, one of the world's most influential advertisers, is reportedly slashing its US television advertising budget.
The giant packaged goods company, which makes everything from Ariel to Hugo Boss fragrances and recently bought Gillette, is to slash its spending on cable TV by 25% and on terrestrial budgets by 5%, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Procter & Gamble, which last year spent £1.4bn - 80% of its advertising budget - on TV, would not confirm the figures.

The move came to light while the company negotiated its spending with TV networks during the "upfront" season, where major advertisers of the stature of Procter & Gamble buy airtime in bulk deals at the start of the year to save money.

The development has been interpreted as a sign of the growing power of advert avoidance technology such as Sky+ and Tivo personal video recorders, but some analysts believe the Procter & Gamble tactic might be a negotiating ploy to save money, with the advertiser scooping up cheap airtime later in the season.

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