Ad Buyers Bulk Up Spending As Consumers Diet

With 2009 underway, so, too, is the race for millions of Americans to meet their New Year’s resolutions. Whether it’s trimming love handles, lowering cholesterol, or stomping out cigarettes for good, consumers are more likely to sample new products and services that help them practice healthier habits. And advertisers are especially eager to help.

A list of the top spenders in this category from 2007 (the last full year that data is available) shows that NutriSystem paid the most for advertising with $209.4 million. Next on the list was GlaxoSmithKline ($171.3 million), whose expenditures shot up over 100% in ’07, thanks to the introduction of its new weight-reducing aid, Alli.

The list also includes several unfamiliar parent companies who promote some very familiar brands. Artal Luxembourg, owners of the Weight Watchers franchise, dropped almost $107 million on advertising in 2007. And Iovate, the company behind Hydroxycut, put $83 million toward advertising in 2007.

Other parent companies flexing their ad muscles in 2007 include Nestle (makers of PowerBar) and Harbinger Capital Partners (owners of Bally’s Fitness clubs), each with expenditures approaching $67 million. Unilever, parent company for the Slim-Fast brand, spent almost $40 million.

Surging its way into 2007’s top ten was Western Holdings LLC, whose Akavar weight loss pill infiltrated U.S. markets from Europe thanks to a $38.3 million ad spend.