The trouble is, I don't know which half

Marketing Magazine, in collaboration with Neilsen, reports that the spend of the top 100 UK advertisers totalled £3.9bn last year.

In financial services, the taxpayer-owned banks led the way, with the combined Lloyds and Halifax expenditure at £81m compared to £48m in 2009; and RBS (Direct Line, NatWest and Churchill) £94m in 2010 compared to £67m in 2009.

Aviva, which rebranded in 2009, cut its advertising outlay from £48.6m in 2009 to £22.7m in 2010.

The three biggest-spending insurance comparison sites (GoCompare, Confused and MoneySupermarket) were up slightly from £63.2m in 2009 to £67.7m in 2010.

Is this spend being converted into brand equity, in the form of enhanced pricing power and margin improvement?

Or is this all just an act of faith?