Jul 21, 2020 - Economy
Jeff Bezos hated ads — now Amazon is America's top advertiser

- Sara Fischer, author ofAxios Media Trends

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