Advertisers tightened their belts in 2007, according to Ad Age's "100 Leading National Advertisers" report, which revealed that the top 100 U.S. advertisers increased spending by just 1.7 percent last year, while measured media spending increased only 0.3 percent.

There is a silver lining to the numbers. As advertisers shifted away from measured media, such as TV and print, they shifted toward online advertising.

Overall, the top 100 increased online spending by $1 billion. Comparatively, spending on newspapers was slashed by $674 million, while TV spending was cut by $406 million.

Online display ads accounted for nearly 7 percent of the top 100's spending, up from 5.1 percent in 2006.

That doesn't mean the top 100 were the top online advertisers, though. While nearly three-quarters of broadcast TV advertising and half the commercials on cable were placed by advertisers in Ad Age's top 100, those same companies accounted for just 37 percent of internet display ads.

The top spender in 2007 was Proctor & Gamble, which increased its budget by more than 7 percent for an estimated $5.2 billion spent on U.S. advertising.