ADVO Establishes Bilingual ShopWise Valores As A Second Advertising Program in Houston.

Business Editors

WINDSOR, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2002

ADVO, Inc. (NYSE: AD) announced today it will be launching a new weekend targeted advertising program called ShopWise(TM) Valores in Houston, beginning in March.

This new program will be delivered by mail approximately twice per month on Friday and Saturday in addition to ADVO's existing weekly mid-week program in this market, and will initially cover approximately 128,000 households. ShopWise(TM) Valores will provide a targeted direct mail solution to bring values from retailers, as well as programming news in Spanish from Hispanic Broadcasting Co. and Telemmundo Communications, to the Hispanic community in Houston.

In addition, ShopWise(TM) Valores will also contain information about community events, provided by The Mayor of Houston, The Mexican Consulate and The Mexican Cultural Institute. For the first time, ADVO's Have You Seen Me?(R) Card, the most recognized mail in America, will be printed in Spanish. These cards, delivered with the package to provide the recipient's address, have led directly to the recovery of 114 missing children across the country.

Gary Mulloy, ADVO's Chairman and CEO, said, "We are pleased to serve the growing needs of retailers and consumers in the Hispanic community through the creation of this unique shared mail package. As an extension of our signature ShopWise(TM) product, ShopWise(TM) Valores will utilize our superior targeting capabilities and distribution infrastructure to ensure the delivery of the right message to the right people at the right time."

ADVO is the nation's largest full-service targeted direct mail marketing services company with annual revenues of over $1.1 billion. The Company's shared mail advertising programs are distributed nationally to over 100 million households. This includes its core ShopWise branded programs distributed on a weekly and monthly basis as well as the reach of its ADVO National Network Extension (A.N.N.E.) programs. Additionally, the Company's consumer web site, ShopWise.com, provides targeted Internet access to consumers. ADVO's subsidiary, MailCoups, Inc., produces SuperCoups, an advertising solution for local neighborhood businesses. ADVO launched the America's Looking For Its Missing Children(R) program in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the United States Postal Service in 1985, and ADVO's missing child cards are responsible for safely recovering 114 children. ADVO has 22 mail processing facilities and 60 sales offices nationwide. ADVO's corporate headquarters are located at One Univac Lane, Windsor, Connecticut 06095. The Company can be visited at its Web site at www.advo.com.

This report contains certain forward looking statements regarding the Company's results of operations and financial position within the meaning of Sections 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward looking statements are based on current information and expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: changes in customer demand and pricing; the possibility of consolidation throughout the retail sector; the impact of economic and political conditions on retail advertising spending and our distribution system; postal and paper prices; possible governmental regulation or legislation affecting aspects of the Company's business; the efficiencies achieved with technology upgrades; the amount of shares the Company will repurchase in the future under its buyback program; fluctuations in interest rates related to the outstanding debt and other general economic factors.