HUL tops TV advertiser list for 2 years running: TAM
Reckitt Benckiser (India) and Godrej Consumer Products continued to feature strongly as well.
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TAM AdEx data for January to September 2025 shows that television advertising volumes dropped marginally by 10 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Despite this dip, Food and Beverages emerged as thedominant sector in television advertising, commanding 21 percent share of total ad volumes in Jan–Sep 2025. Personal Care and Personal Hygiene followed at 16 percent, while Services accounted for 14 percent and Household Products held 10 percent share. Together, the top 10 sectors contributed 88 percent of total ad volumes in this period.
Hindustan Unilever remained the leading advertiser across both January–September 2024 and January–September 2025. Reckitt Benckiser (India) and Godrej Consumer Products continued to feature strongly as well. Additionally, Nestle India and Star India entered the top 10 advertisers list in January–September 2025 versus last year. The top 10 advertisers contributed 42 percent share of ad volumes on TV during January–September 2025.
Looking at brands, the top 10 brands collectively accounted for 10 percent share of ad volumes on television during Jan–Sep 2025. Out of these top 10 brands, 5 belonged to Reckitt Benckiser (India) and 2 belonged to Hindustan Unilever. Three of the top 10 belonged to Personal Care/Personal Hygiene and Household Products categories. For context, top brands featured Harpic Power Plus 10x Advanced, Dettol Antiseptic Liquid, Dettol Toilet Soaps, Surf Excel Easy Wash, Lizol All In 1, Santoor Sandal and Turmeric, Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, Ultratech Cement, Close Up Ever Fresh and Goodknight Flash.
In terms of category movement, the Toilet Soaps category retained its number 1 rank with 6 percent share of TV ad volumes in Jan–Sep 2025 over Jan–Sep 2024. Two categories maintained their exact rankings year-on-year. Chocolate, Ecom–Online Shopping and Aerated Soft Drinks were new entrants into the top 10 list of categories in Jan–Sep 2025 versus Jan–Sep 2024. Washing Powders/Liquids, Ecom–Media/Entertainment/Social Media and Tooth Pastes observed a positive rank shift compared to last year. Overall, the top 10 categories collectively added 33 percent share of ad volumes on Television Advertising in Jan-Sep 2025.
Growth-wise, more than 175 categories registered positive growth. Toilet/Floor Cleaners saw the highest increase in ad volumes, rising 18 percent in Jan–Sep 2025 over January–September 2024. Educ-Vocational Training saw the steepest surge at 41 times growth. Ecom–Online Shopping grew 25 percent. Ecom–Media/Entertainment/Social Media also grew by 19 percent. Other fast growing categories included Corporate/Brand Image (51%), Soft Drink Non-Aerated (23%), Retail Outlets/Jewellers (14%), Auto-cars (18%) and Publications/Books (2 times).
Genre-level analysis shows that GEC and News together added 57 percent share of ad volumes on TV in Jan–Sep 2025. Compared to Jan–Sep 2024, News, Movies and Music genres saw minor fall in their share of ad volumes, while GEC strengthened marginally.
TAM’s indexed growth view shows an index of 100 in Jan–Sep 2024 versus an index of 90 in Jan–Sep 2025, clearly reflecting the overall 10 percent decline in ad volumes.
