ADVO Announces Agreement

ADVO Announces Agreement

WINDSOR, Conn., January 23, 1996 - ADVO, Inc. (NYSE:AD) announced that it has signed a letter of intent to sell its Marketing Force subsidiary to The SPAR Group. ADVO had previously announced the discontinuance of Marketing Force for accounting purposes. Terms were not announced. The transaction is expected to close in the next month.

The SPAR Group, a privately held marketing service company headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, will combine its operations with Marketing Force's. Bob Brown, CEO of SPAR, said, "The joiningof these two major marketing service companies will allow for enhanced client services, improved field execution, and efficiency that will benefit clients and retailers alike."

Robert Kamerschen, CEO of ADVO, agreed that, "This is a matching of complementary skills that will put the excellent Marketing Force organization on the path that we had originally envisioned for it."

ADVO is the nation's largest full-service direct marketing services company with annual revenues of almost $1 billion. ADVO specializes in shared and solo direct mail services, to provide customized MicrotargetingTM solutions for its clients' needs. The Company's Mailbox Values ¨ branded shared mail program is distributed nationally to over 57 million households weekly. ADVO also offers limited printing and transportation services. It has 22 production facilities and 80 sales offices nationwide. ADVO's corporate headquarters are located at One Univac Lane, Windsor, CT 06095.

 Contact: 
           ADVO, Inc. 
           David M. Stigler 
           (860) 285-6120