JAMSTER, the creator of the Crazy Frog ringtone, spent £45 million on advertising in the UK last year — far more than Marks & Spencer and Asda, whose campaigns have featured celebrities such as Twiggy and Sharon Osbourne, The Times has learnt.

Jamster’s advertising outlay increased more than threefold in 2005, lifting it from 167th place in the league of advertisers in Britain in 2004, when it spent £14.7 million, to 22nd by mid-December last year, figures from Nielsen Media Research reveal.

Jamster’s heavy spending has been on traditional advertising media such as television and newspapers. The group spent only £39,591 on internet advertising, more than £28 million on its television campaign and more than £16 million on press adverts.

Mike Spencer, head of information at the advertising agency M&C Saatchi, said: “Although in its infancy, measured internet spend for Jamster was a mere drop in the ocean when compared to the TV or press advertising used. So it would seem that, second to the playground, traditional media channels remain heavy hitters with UK youth.”

The top two UK advertisers were Unilever and Procter & Gamble. Unilever, which spent £204 million in 2004, raised its total spending on advertising to £213.6 million last year. The group typically hogs the top slot for advertising because of its ownership of top-selling consumer brands such as Persil washing powder, Dove soap and shampoo and Hellman’s mayonnaise.

British advertising by Procter & Gamble, owner of Pampers nappies, Ariel washing powder and Pantene shampoo, was down from £213 million in 2004 to £180.3 million last year.

The figures also reveal that Lloyds TSB, the bank, spent £36 million of its £52.9 million UK advertising outlay last year on direct mail advertising, indicating that this route is still favoured by British banks.

The biggest investment in internet advertising in Britain was the £13.5 million spent by Microsoft, the software group — a substantial amount of its total £34 million British outlay.

Jamster’s Crazy Frog ringtone was by far the year’s bestseller, taking 31 per cent of the British ringtones market, now worth £133 million.

The ringtone market is now believed to be worth more than twice the value of CD single sales, excluding internet downloads. Novelty tracks are most popular with the 5-to-15-year-olds, who drive the ringtone market.

Sweetie Chick’s Tweet Tweet, another strange animal from Jamster, was the year’s second-biggest selling ringtone.

The statistics also show that DFS, the furniture retailer, is still an active advertiser, despite pressure in the sector. The group spent £83.3 million on advertising in 2005, £36 million of it on press advertisements and £28 million on television. DFS spent £82 million on advertising in 2004, according to Nielsen. Increasing competition from the likes of Argos, MFI and Homebase has hit British furniture retailers.

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