Consumer-Goods Makers Pour Out Ads

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As wary Americans start to crack open their wallets, household-goods makers like Procter & Gamble Co., Colgate-Palmolive Co., Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Clorox Co. are cranking up their advertising, hoping to coax consumers farther out of their shells.

Amid signs of an improving economy, recent survey data show consumers are more willing to splurge by eating out or buying new shoes, but the same doesn't necessarily hold for everyday household goods.

Major consumer-products makers are expected to spend an average 9.7% of their annual sales on advertising this year, up from 8.6% in 2009, Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Ali Dibadj said in a recent research report.

P&G, the world's biggest ad spender, plans a 20% increase in "consumer impressions," or instances when consumers see its ads, during the fiscal year ending June 30. The Cincinnati-based maker of Pampers diapers, Crest toothpaste and Pantene shampoo says it will introduce 30% more "significant" innovations in products this year, which CEO Robert McDonald describes as the most in his 30-year career at the company.