Procter & Gamble may only be #26 on the Fortune 500 this year, but that hasn’t stopped the company from once again outspending all other U.S. advertisers by nearly $2 billion.

According to Ad Age’s list of the 100 biggest advertisers in the country, P&G spent $4.614 billion in 2010. This is an increase of 17.9% over the amount it spent in 2009. Of course, P&G has too many brands and products to count, covering everything from detergent to diapers to batteries and that stuff isn’t just going to sell itself, especially when there are cheaper versions available.

Moving up to the runner-up position from the third spot in 2009 is AT&T, with $2.989 billion spent on advertising last year. Meanwhile, Verizon fell two spots to number four on the list with a paltry $2.451 billion. Sprint (#20, with $1.4 billion) and T-Mobile (#45, with $820.4 million) trailed accordingly.

Third place General Motors increased its ad spending by 16.6% to $2.869 billion. The next car company on the list was Ford, at #13 with $1.914 billion, while the world’s largest car maker Toyota only spent $1.735 billion, enough to land in the #16 spot.

The nation’s largest company, Walmart, is only the seventh-largest advertiser, with $2.055 billion spent in 2010.

The bank with the biggest ad budget was Chase, in at #12 with $1.916 billion, five spots ahead of Bank of America’s $1.552 billion.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government increased its ad spending by 17% to $1.107 billion, but it remains in 28th place on the list.

you can see the whole list here.

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