In response to the rapidly changing advertising landscape, cosmetics giant L'Oreal has decided to gradually reduce its ad spending dollars on traditional media while it considers the internet as a viable replacement, Patrick Rabain, head of the consumer products division, told investors Thursday.

Rabain said that L'Oreal -- one of the biggest advertisers in the world -- is changing the way it spends money on advertising as it experiments with new media options.

The announcement comes at a time when the company's ad budget has swelled by 9.5 percent to $6.29 billion.

L'Oreal spends an average of 75 percent of its budget on TV, 20 percent on print ads and the rest on billboards, Rabain said.

As part of its phase-out strategy from traditional media, the company plans to spend up to 2 percent of its overall ad budget on web initiatives.

Last year, the company found surprising success in the launch of a men's fragrance in France called Amor pour Homme, which used the blogosphere almost entirely to spread word of mouth about the product.

Rabain said that within a matter of months, the perfume's website received more than 2 million hits and the product gained a half percentage of the French market.

"We will move away from the traditional media spend, but we are being careful because you have to be sure you are being more efficient. It's quite clear ... things are changing," Rabain said, adding that the change will not be sudden.

The L'Oreal brand includes Maybelline make-up, Elseve shampoos, Lancome perfumes and several other brands.