Procter & Gamble Co. was the No. 2 advertiser in the U.S. in 2001, the trade journal Advertising Age reported Monday.

        Ad Age said Cincinnati-based P&G spent $2.54 billion on U.S. advertisements last year, down 2.8 percent from 2000. That was behind only General Motors Corp., which Ad Age measured at $3.37 billion.

        P&G has been holding its total marketing spending steady and pouring more of those resources into non-traditional deliveries like Internet marketing and direct mail.

        Also were on the list were Federated Department Stores Inc. (No. 43 with $746.1 million in U.S. ad spending) and Kroger Co. (No. 60 with $511.6 million).

       Have a tip about a Tristate company that should be included in our Buzz? Call 768-8147 or e-mail business@enquirer.com.

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