ADVO and The Connecticut Post To Begin Joint Advertising Distribution Program.

Business Editors

WINDSOR, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2002

ADVO, Inc. (NYSE: AD) announced today, the signing of a new, five-year agreement with the Connecticut Post, a MediaNews Group, Inc. property.

The agreement provides for the combined distribution of ADVO's direct mail advertising package with advertisements from the Connecticut Post, to offer clients in Southern Connecticut more efficient and effective distribution of advertising materials. Under terms of the agreement, ADVO will distribute a direct mail package of advertising, including advertisements from the Connecticut Post, to all non-subscribers of the Post in the Southern Connecticut market. The Connecticut Post will distribute a similar package weekly to its subscribers through newspaper delivery. Scheduled to begin in September, the packages will be issued in a co-branded Connecticut Post - ShopWise wrap. MediaNews Group, Inc. and ADVO are also currently partners in a successful program in the Denver market.

Gary Mulloy, ADVO's Chairman and CEO, said, "We are pleased to expand our partnership with MediaNews Group and the Connecticut Post to produce this enhanced advertising vehicle. By joining newspaper and direct mail distribution, both clients and consumers will benefit from the efficiency and enriched content of these targeted advertising offerings."

MediaNews Group, Inc. is the nation's seventh largest newspaper company, with headquarters in Denver. MediaNews Group publishes 49 daily newspapers and 94 non-daily publications in 12 states with daily and Sunday circulation of approximately 2.1 million and 2.2 million, respectively. MediaNews Group maintains 74 Web sites for its daily newspapers and an umbrella site, newschoice.com. In addition, MediaNews Group owns a CBS affiliate and a radio station in Anchorage, Alaska and four radio stations in Texas.

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(TM) 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(R), 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 and Exploited Children and the United States Postal Service in 1985, and ADVO's missing child cards are responsible for safely recovering 116 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 Section 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 in ADVO's operations and business environment. 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; and other general economic factors.