Conoco Launches Corporate Advertising Campaign; `Think Big. Move Fast.' -- Competing With The Supermajors.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 1999--

Savoring its newly independent status, Conoco (NYSE:COCA) (NYSE:COCB) is returning to the corporate advertising arena with a campaign pumping its ability to think big, move fast and overcome any obstacle in sight, including competing effectively with supermajors resulting from recent energy industry mergers.

Absent from the advertising world for nearly two decades while a subsidiary of DuPont, Houston-based Conoco completed its separation in August and returned to the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbols COC.A and COC.B.

"It's important to re-establish Conoco's distinctive personality as a strong, independent global energy company in the minds of the financial community and the general public," said Conoco Chairman and CEO Archie W. Dunham. "Some may think that a company of Conoco's size will have a hard time competing with ultra-large companies, like those created by recent mergers in our industry. We strongly disagree, and we say so in our new ads, which emphasize our lean, resourceful and nimble nature."

An imaginative campaign was created by Conoco's new communications partner, Campbell-Ewald of Detroit. Television spots, launched Nov. 14 on major broadcast and financial cable networks, vividly set the tone.

"This campaign is about defining the soul of this innovative, vibrant company," said Bill Ludwig, agency vice chairman and chief creative officer.

The initial ad, called "Fast Cat," pictures Conoco as a trim, young and precocious housecat. This "Fast Cat" engages in a race with a very large, less nimble housecat when fresh milk is delivered to the house where they live. The large cat ambles slowly off the porch toward a cat door, blocking the way of the Conoco "Fast Cat." The Conoco cat, however, spots an open window on the second floor and takes an athletic and acrobatic path into the house, beating the other cat to the bowl of milk. As the "Fast Cat" winks and smiles at the camera, a voiceover relates the advantages of being quicker and more nimble than the competition. Tagging the spot are the words, "Think Big. Move Fast," and the Conoco logo.

A second commercial will compare skyscrapers that house BP Amoco, Shell and Exxon offices with Conoco's three-story headquarters complex. The voiceover suggests that Conoco has a different perspective on the world, and again emphasizes speed and agility over sheer size.

The ads will be running through Dec. 19 in a television schedule skewed toward the financial community audience through business-oriented cable television shows, although some sports and public affairs programs are included. Print ads, beginning the week of Nov. 15, are limited to the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily and the hometown Houston Chronicle.

Dunham has great expectations for the initial, limited broadcast schedule. "Ad space is at a premium these days, due to the emergence of so many dot-com companies, and we also face the fact that we are almost into an election season," he said. "Nonetheless, we have measurable expectations of this campaign, and if it succeeds to the extent we believe likely, we will consider broadening its scope as we go forward."

He said the initial campaign is limited to U.S. markets, but eventually will be extended to non-U.S. locations.

"We're a major participant in the international energy industry, and we intend to be a highly visible one," Dunham said.

Conoco is a major, international energy company, based in Houston and active in 40 countries.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An image of the "Fast Cat" described below may be downloaded from Conoco's Internet site at http://www.conoco.com.