Food & beverage leads with 22% share as India’s TV ads dip 10%: TAM report

According to the latest TAM AdEx report covering January to June, the television advertising landscape in India witnessed a strategic recalibration in the first half of 2025. Overall, television ad volumes dropped by 10% compared to the same period in 2024, signaling cautious spending among advertisers despite the medium's continued dominance.

The Food & Beverage sector maintained its leadership position with a 22% share of total ad volumes, followed by the personal care/personal hygiene sector at 16%, and services at 14%. Notably, the laundry and hair care sectors experienced a slight decline in rankings, with all other top 10 sectors retaining their positions from the previous year. These top sectors collectively accounted for nearly 90% of television ad volumes during the period.

At the category level, Toilet Soaps continued to lead, contributing 6.2% of ad volumes, followed closely by toilet/floor cleaners (5.4%) and washing powders/liquids (3.7%). Fresh entrants to the top 10 categories in 2025 included aerated soft drinks and e-commerce online shopping, reflecting evolving consumer trends and advertiser focus. Together, the top 10 categories contributed 33% of total ad volumes. The toilet/floor cleaners category saw the highest growth with a 16% increase in ad secondages. Remarkably, e-commerce online shopping ads grew by 48%, highlighting aggressive market expansion, alongside substantial gains for vocational training institutes (3.83 times growth), non-aerated soft drinks (39%), and retail outlets like jewellers (31%).

The report noted that FMCG companies dominated the advertiser landscape, with Hindustan Unilever (HUL) leading, followed closely by Reckitt Benckiser India. Other major advertisers included Godrej Group, Coca Cola India, Procter & Gamble, Cadbury India, Glaxosmithkline, Pepsi Foods, Nestle India and Tata Group. These top 10 advertisers together accounted for 47% of total TV ad volumes, with Coca Cola India, Glaxosmithkline, Nestle and Tata notably improving their rank standings compared to 2024.

Brand-wise, 'Harpic Power Plus 10x Advanced' emerged as the top-advertised brand on television, followed by 'Dettol Toilet Soaps' and 'Dettol Antiseptic Liquid.' Reckitt Benckiser's brands were particularly prominent, comprising six of the top 10 brands, while Hindustan Unilever accounted for two. The top 10 brands together contributed 11% of the total ad volume share, underscoring concentrated brand advertising efforts amidst a competitive market.

Genre-wise, General Entertainment Channels (GEC) retained their dominance over News channels in attracting advertising spends, constituting 31% of ad volumes against News at 28%. Movies, Music and Kids channel genres accounted for 22%, 11% and 4% respectively. Together, the top five channel genres contributed more than 95% of all TV ad volumes in both 2024 and 2025, indicating a concentrated preference among advertisers.