Advertising spending in China rose 20 percent in the first half of the year to 143.4 billion yuan (US$17.7 billion), as major multinationals like Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) stepped up their campaigns, a new survey said.

About 80 percent of ad spending in the first half of the year went to TV, while newspapers accounted for most of the rest, according to results of the survey released by Nielsen Media Research last week.

The pharmaceutical industry was the biggest ad buyer in the first half of the year with RMB 30 billion yuan in spending, followed by cosmetics and personal care products at RMB 27.5 billion yuan.

P&G was one of the biggest advertisers in the important Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou markets, with its Olay brand of skin care products, Rejoice shampoo and Crest toothpaste among the top 10 brands in all three markets.

Colgate-Palmolive's Colgate toothpaste, an arch rival of Crest, was among the top 10 advertisers in two of the three markets, as were P&G's Pantene shampoo and fast food giant McDonald's.

Top Chinese advertisers included Harbin Pharmaceutical, electronics retailer GOME Electrical Appliances, and China's top mobile carrier, China Mobile