PHILIP MORRIS LEADS US IN ADVERTISING

Philip Morris Companies retained its title as the top advertiser in the United States in 1989, with expenditures of $2.07 billion, according to Advertising Age, a trade publication. Procter & Gamble Company took second place with $1.79 billion, followed by Sears Roebuck & Co. and General Motors Corporation, which were the only other US corporations to break the $1 billion level in advertising outlays.

The top 100 advertisers spent a total of $33.9 billion, up 6.4 percent from the year before. In 1988, spending rose 6.7 percent.