Big CPG Brands Are Quick To Cut Ad Spend Amid A Tough US Market | AdExchanger

"Companies like Procter & Gamble, Pepsi and Colgate-Palmolive are contending with cautious consumers and shrinking margins. Cutting marketing spend has become the easiest and quickest way to protect profitability. Here's how Big CPG is coping with a challenging year in the North American market. Out of control macros Marketing budgets tend to face the greatest scrutiny because they're one off the few line items executives can fully control."

"The challenge for big US brands in 2026 is how much totally outside of their control. In Q4 2025, brands were hit by a perfect storm: a month-long government shutdown in October, significant cuts to SNAP (the federal food assistance program) that reduced grocery spending and, on top of it all, political turmoil tied to large-scale ICE deportation campaigns. "What's behind the slowdown in the category?" one investor asked Colgate-Palmolive CEO Noel Wallace."

"The main culprit is "uncertainty," Wallace responded. "We've seen, obviously, some softness in Hispanic cluster markets," he added. AdExchanger Daily Get our editors' roundup delivered to your inbox every weekday. That "obviously" is pulling a lot of weight. Wallace and other CEOs and investors tip-toed around the issue of a major drop-off in spending by Spanish-speaking Americans. In a follow-up question, another investor asked about how Colgate-Palmolive is rethinking its portfolio "in this kind of K-shape world we're living in?""

Q4 2025 and early 2026 created a difficult environment for major North American CPG firms. Companies such as Procter & Gamble, Pepsi and Colgate-Palmolive reported cautious consumers and narrowing margins and responded by reducing marketing as a quick way to protect profitability. Brands encountered external shocks including a month-long government shutdown, significant SNAP benefit cuts that lowered grocery spending, and political turmoil tied to large-scale ICE deportation campaigns. Those factors produced uncertainty and uneven demand, with notable softness in Hispanic cluster markets, prompting portfolio adjustments and a push toward super-premium segments.

Read at AdExchanger