Avon to invest $200 mil. in global advertising by 2000, execs tell investors.

AVON DOUBLING GLOBAL AD SPEND TO $200 MIL. BY 2000, bringing the company's ad investment to 3% of sales versus the 1.4% of sales the direct marketer spends on advertising now, Avon CEO Jim Preston told investors at a meeting in New York City Oct. 23. Calling Avon's direct-selling program the "best in the world," Preston said the company will fulfill its "real potential" by using the larger budget to "raise consumer awareness" and increase access to products. Money for the ad spend will come from a number of cost-cutting and investment initiatives Avon is undertaking over the next two years.