It is one of the most accurate bellwethers of economic activity and has suffered as deeply as any sector during the recession. But advertising — once described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it — appears to be on the rebound.

Indications are that companies are beginning to increase their advertising budgets once more, despite the lingering downturn in many countries.

Unilever, one of the world’s biggest consumer companies, said yesterday that its advertising spending rose by 13 per cent in the three months to September 30.

And ITV, the broadcaster struggling with declining revenue and uncertainty about its leadership, said that advertising sales were up 4 per cent for December compared with the same month last year — the first year-on-year rise since June 2008.

The broadcaster benefited from supermarket price wars that involved giants such as Asda and Tesco reiterating their claims to be the cheapest weekly family shop.

Spending from the Government is also holding up well, and cosmetics and telecommunications companies are also showing signs of recovery.

The lavish Marks & Spencer Christmas advertisements seen on our screens in recent years will be back. With a budget of about £10 million the retailer will be screening nine different advertisements, more than in any previous year.

A stellar line-up of big names has been booked to capture consumers’ attention. Joanna Lumley will narrate the advertisements, Stephen Fry will appear with those other national treasures Wallace & Gromit, and the Strictly Come Dancing star John Sergeant and the Life on Mars star Philip Glenister will also appear, as will the M&S regulars Twiggy, Myleene Klass and Noémie Lenoir.

Steven Sharp, M&S’s marketing director, said that the company was expecting the Christmas marketplace to be “congested” this year and was aiming for “cut-through memorability”.

General advertising spending in the UK is expected to be down by 15 per cent this year, although internet advertising will be down by a much smaller amount.

Jim Marshall, former executive director of Starcom MediaVest Group, said: “The next three months and next year will not be anything like as bad as had been forecast, but it is still bad and is against pretty low comparisons.Things aren’t as pessimistic as they have been.”

Unilever, the consumer goods giant, has seen falling advertising rates as an opportunity to lift its spending in an attempt to boost volume. Advertising spending rose with the Indian launch of its Dove and Vaseline brands, and the launch of the new Surf Twilight Sensations laundry products globally. Unilever reported that sales volumes rose by 3.6 per cent from the same time last year, although pre-tax profit was down 43 per cent to €1.42 billion (£1.27 billion). This included profits from selling its seasonings business.

Paul Polman, chief executive of Unilever, said: “Market conditions remain challenging and in this environment we will continue to increase investment behind our brands.”

Mr Polman added that increased advertising spending would continue in the fourth quarter. He said: “In the last six months we’ve introduced more new brands in 20 countries where we think we have an advantage and now we have a growth mentality again, we’re not about defending our business but about growing it.”

Unilever still spends relatively little on advertising compared with rivals such as Reckitt Benckiser.

Keith Bowman, analyst for the stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown, said that Unilever was “inching closer” to Reckitt. He said: “Sales have again surprised on the upside, whilst the profit margin has also improved. Like Reckitt, an emphasis on innovation and sustained advertising spend is driving performance, with cost-saving initiatives providing additional momentum.”

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