Shoppers Drug Mart made a big leap in its radio presence to be the most active advertiser in Canada last week, according to media monitoring data from AdEase for Aug. 14 to 20.

The drugstore chain made a major boost in the buy behind a campaign promoting treatments its pharmacists are able to offer for minor illnesses, with a particularly strong focus on Western Canada.

The Ford Dealers Association remained in second in the national rankings with adds for its F-150 truck and Escape SUV. Virgin Plus held on to third as it continued to run ads from its new ad platform.

McDonald’s was out of the nation top ten most active advertisers for the first time in several months, though it still had some radio presence with ads for its “Summer Drink Days” promotion.

With McDonald’s scaling back its radio presence, QSRs dropped to the fifth-most active advertiser category. Import SUVs took over the top spot, led by the Nissan Dealers Association’s campaign for the latest Rogue model. Smartphone services, last week’s top group of advertisers, dipped to second.

All figures based on total play counts. Number in parentheses is the previous week’s rankings; (-) denotes an advertiser/category that did not rank the previous week.

Vancouver

Advertisers
1. Virgin Plus: 1224 (102)
2. Pacific National Exhibition: 1188 (2)
3. Mobile Klinik: 1129 (1)
4. Nissan Dealers Association: 1064 (-)
5. Rogers Communications: 1050 (3)
6. Wendy’s Restaurant: 890 (-)
7. Shoppers Drug Mart: 867 (149)
8. Spence Diamonds: 839 (5)
9. Sleep Country: 800 (6)
10. Toyota Dealers Association: 784 (295)

Categories
1. Import SUVs (Dealer Group): 1919 (89)
2. Smartphone & Mobile Services: 1777 (2)
3. Quick Serve Restaurants: 1513 (16)
4. Pharmacies & Drug Stores: 1501 (10)
5. Mobile & Computer Repair Services: 1129 (3)
6. Heating & Cooling Services: 1103 (14)
7. Internet Services: 1047 (24)
8. Local Government: 1024.05 (5)
9. Lottery Draws: 942 (25)
10. Jewelry Stores: 891 (6)

Calgary

Advertisers
1. Shoppers Drug Mart: 1182 (373)
2. Ford Dealers Association: 857 (1)
3. Utilities Consumer Advocate: 826 (2)
4. Rogers Communications: 813 (3)
5. Family Braces: 706 (7)
6. Spence Diamonds: 705 (4)
7. Exxon Mobil: 661 (-)
8. Wendy’s Restaurant: 614 (418)
9. Sleep Country: 602 (6)
10. London Drugs: 521 (10)

Categories
1. Grocery Stores & Supermarkets: 1695 (1)
2. Pharmacies & Drug Stores: 1669 (17)
3. Quick Serve Restaurants: 1193 (16)
4. Lottery Draws: 924 (5)
5. Department Stores: 905 (2)
6. Dental Clinic: 887 (7)
7. Domestic Trucks: 856 (4)
8. Heating & Cooling Services: 846 (18)
9. Energy Agencies: 826 (8)
10. Dine-In Restaurants & Bars: 815 (12)

Edmonton

Advertisers
1. Spence Diamonds: 915 (1)
2. Shoppers Drug Mart: 832 (224)
3. Utilities Consumer Advocate: 784 (2)
4. Ford Dealers Association: 761 (3)
5. Rogers Communications: 746 (6)
6. Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation: 734 (10)
7. Exxon Mobil: 618 (-)
8. Wendy’s Restaurant: 559 (-)
9. Sleep Country: 546 (9)
10. London Drugs: 502 (8)

Categories
1. Grocery Stores & Supermarkets: 1316 (1)
2. Pharmacies & Drug Stores: 1282 (16)
3. Quick Serve Restaurants: 1200 (13)
4. Heating & Cooling Services: 1151 (3)
5. Jewelry Stores: 1049 (2)
6. Lottery Draws: 993 (8)
7. Gas & Electricity: 932 (21)
8. Domestic Trucks: 817 (6)
9. Energy Agencies: 784 (5)
10. Internet Services: 730 (25)

Ottawa

Advertisers
1. Bell: 1788 (1)
2. Ford Dealers Association: 1075 (2)
3. Nissan Dealers Association: 967 (75)
4. Shoppers Drug Mart: 839 (416)
5. Canadian Automobile Association (CAA): 792 (7)
6. Subaru Dealers Association: 785 (4)
7. Toyota Dealers Association: 725 (108)
8. Sobeys: 692 (-)
9. Interprovincial Lottery: 632 (5)
10. Donnelly Automotive Group: 610 (442)

Categories
1. Internet Services: 1988 (1)
2. Import SUVs (Dealer Group): 1616 (35)
3. Pharmacies & Drug Stores: 1087.33 (47)
4. Consumer Property & Casualty Insurance: 1086.5 (9)
5. Festivals: 1035 (7)
6. General Local Dealerships: 1002 (22)
7. Mobile Application: 986.67 (5)
8. Automotive Imports General: 978 (4)
9. Heating & Cooling Services: 947.17 (12)
10. Grocery Stores & Supermarkets: 941.34 (26)

Toronto

Advertisers
1. Virgin Plus: 1796 (1)
2. Ford Dealers Association: 1779 (2)
3. Selloffvacations: 1393 (-)
4. Toyota Dealers Association: 1305 (-)
5. Canadian National Exhibition Association: 1277 (5)
6. Nissan Dealers Association: 1273 (-)
7. Shoppers Drug Mart: 1270 (106)
8. SickKids Foundation: 1217 (4)
9. Desjardins Group: 1162 (7)
10. Spence Diamonds: 1080 (8)

Categories
1. Smartphone & Mobile Services: 3536 (1)
2. Import SUVs (Dealer Group): 2199 (62)
3. Lottery Draws: 2075 (3)
4. Consumer Property & Casualty Insurance: 2052.5 (9)
5. Quick Serve Restaurants: 1820 (2)
6. Online Travel Agency: 1474 (131)
7. Heating & Cooling Services: 1400 (23)
8. Department Stores: 1304 (7)
9. Exhibitions: 1303 (6)
10. Pharmacies & Drug Stores: 1181 (94)

Montreal

Advertisers
1. Bell: 1693.5 (1)
2. Virgin Plus: 1391 (3)
3. Hydro Quebec: 978 (5)
4. Mazda Dealers Association: 959 (192)
5. Gouvernement Du Quebec: 874 (4)
6. Videotron: 812 (6)
7. Federation Des Chambres De Commerce Du Quebec: 710 (7)
8. Teccart Institute: 602 (-)
9. CTV Television: 599 (8)
10. CSST: 597 (17)

Categories
1. Internet Services: 2373.5 (1)
2. Smartphone & Mobile Services: 2270.5 (2)
3. Import SUVs (Dealer Group): 2169 (6)
4. Domestic Trucks: 1610 (3)
5. Casinos: 1173 (7)
6. Mattress Stores: 1049 (13)
7. General Local Dealerships: 1019.5 (5)
8. Consumption: 978 (12)
9. Festivals: 931.5 (10)
10. Auto Repair Services: 921 (11)

Quebec City

Advertisers
1. Hydro Quebec: 508 (2)
2. Ville De Quebec: 446 (6)
3. Dormez-Vous Sleep Centers: 432 (1)
4. Loto-Quebec: 411 (16)
5. Videotron: 395 (4)
6. Mazda Dealers Association: 268 (-)
7. Sports Experts Sporting Goods Stores: 245 (63)
8. Quebecomm: 244 (15)
9. College O’Sullivan: 235 (24)
10. Virgin Plus: 234 (5)

Categories
1. Festivals: 1351.5 (1)
2. Import SUVs (Dealer Group): 920 (8)
3. Dine-In Restaurants & Bars: 604 (7)
4. Mattress Stores: 599 (2)
5. Local Government: 590 (6)
6. Training Schools: 583 (5)
7. Colleges & Universities: 548 (16)
8. Consumption: 508 (9)
9. Auto Repair Services: 424 (17)
10. Grocery Stores & Supermarkets: 410 (54)