Jul 21, 2020 - Economy

Jeff Bezos hated ads — now Amazon is America's top advertiser

Sara Fischer

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

Amazon spent nearly $7 billion on U.S. advertising in 2019, making it the top ad spender in the country, according to a new analysis from Kantar featured in AdAge.

Why it matters: It wasn't that long ago in 2009 that Jeff Bezos triumphantly declared that "Advertising is the price you pay for having an unremarkable product or service."

Now that the e-commerce giant is in the business of selling hundreds of its own products, from voice assistants to TV hardware, it has a different perspective.
Bezos recently conceded last year that he "changed his mind."

By the numbers: Total U.S. ad spending in 2019 (in millions):

Amazon: $6,879
Comcast Corp.: $6,142
AT&T: $5,484
Procter & Gamble: $4,281
Walt Disney Co.: $3,154
Alphabet (Google): $3,130
Verizon: $3,071
Charter Communications: $3,044
American Express: $2,990
General Motors Co.: $2,952

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Jeff Bezos hated ads — now Amazon is America's top advertiser

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