ADVERTISING spending in China's three major media rose 15 percent last year from a year earlier to 441.5 billion yuan (US$61.5 billion), Nielsen Co said yesterday.

Television commercials accounted for 82 percent of the spending, compared with 16 percent for newspapers and two percent for magazines, Nielsen said in an email.

Pharmaceuticals, toiletries and beverages were the most advertised items, accounting for 46 percent of the advertising market.

Domestic brands Huangjindadang and Wahaha joined overseas brands among the top 10 advertisers last year.

The report said 55 percent of total spend was in 10 cities, which it did not list. However, it said Chengdu posted a big increase last year, with advertising spending up 27 percent. Shenyang's spend was up 24 percent and Changsha's up 20 percent.

Nielsen said the Beijing Olympics had fueled spending. The advertising spending of 32 Olympic partners and sponsors reached 18.7 billion yuan, up 23 percent from 2006. China Mobile, McDonald's and Coca-Cola were the top three advertisers among the partners last year.