Spending on advertising in the mainland continued to show strong growth, expanding 9.1 per cent in the third quarter, as oral hygiene products, electrical appliance chain stores and wine and spirits producers increased their expenditure.

According to Nielsen Media Research in China, advertising spending in the mainland for the third quarter, on a pre-discounted basis, was 84 billion yuan, up 9.1 per cent over the previous quarter and 20 per cent over the same period last year.

"Growth continued with spending increasing over the quarter due to year-end seasonal effects," said Rita Chan, director of client service at Nielsen Media Research.

Oral hygiene and toothpaste vendors boosted their spending significantly, ranking fourth in the top 10 advertising categories with about four billion yuan.

Their spending doubled over the same period last year.

"Two dominant foreign brands, Colgate and Crest, spent more, while other local brands and oral hygiene-related products also boosted their spending," Ms Chan said.

"These products are facing fierce competition in the market from foreign and local brands. The vendors capture market share by launching new products continuously, and this helps to boost advertising spending."

The next biggest growth engine for advertising dollars was wine and spirits with spending on whisky and brandy promotions surging 2.1 times and 1.4 times respectively over the same period last year.

"Western spirit brands such as Chivas Regal, Hennessy and Martell spent more as they repositioned themselves to attract the younger generation," Ms Chan said, adding that sweet liqueurs such as Bailey's from Ireland, which has launched television commercials in Shanghai and Chengdu, were popular among young women.

The continued rise in domestic consumption also increased the ad spending of local household appliance chain stores.

Chain stores such as Gome Electrical Appliances Holding and Yongle Electrical Appliances spent 82 per cent more in the quarter year on year.

"Spending in September for the major chain stores reached 300 million yuan, surging 90 per cent over last year," Nielsen Media Research said.

Gome's advertising spending in the Beijing market alone increased 94.5 per cent year on year to 70 million yuan, the first time it had ranked in the top 10 brands in Beijing.