Unease with advertising can be magnified if the advertiser is the government, especially if an advertisement conflicts with widely held beliefs about government. Estimates of Government Advertising Expenditures

		The Challenges

The federal government's expenditures on advertising are difficult to ascertain. There are at least two reasons for this: (1) there is no government-wide definition of what constitutes advertising and (2) there is no central authority to which agencies are required to report advertising-related expenditures. One Approach to Estimating Government Advertising Expenses

Despite these challenges, an estimate of the federal government's expenditures on contracts for advertising services can be derived from utilizing data from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). According to FPDS data, federal agencies spent $892.5 million on contracts for "advertising services" in FY2013. A fuller statement of the limitations on government advertising may be found in GAO's Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, Volume I . Otherwise, oversight, investigation, and enforcement of appropriate practices regarding government advertising falls to agencies' inspectors general, GAO, and Congress. Primary oversight of government agency advertising has been exercised by Congress.
Government advertising can be controversial if it conflicts with citizens' views about the proper role of government. Yet some government advertising is accepted as a normal part of government information activities.
It is difficult to calculate the amount of funds spent by the federal government on advertising each year. The reasons for this include (1) there is no government-wide definition of what constitutes advertising and (2) there is no central authority to which agencies are required to report advertising expenses.
However, an estimate of the federal government's expenditures on contracts for advertising services can be derived from data in the Federal Procurement Data System. According to these data, federal agencies spent $892.5 million on advertising services in FY2013.
Agencies' discretion to advertise is limited primarily by restrictions imposed by Congress in authorization and appropriations statutes and by the principles set forth in volume 1 of the Government Accountability Office's (GAO's) Principles of Federal Appropriations Law. Any oversight of government advertising expenditures rests with agencies' inspectors general, GAO, and Congress.