Press Release

NEW YORK, Dec. 31, 1999--The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) has added Casanova Pendrill Publicidad, one of the leading U.S. Hispanic advertising agencies, to its group of specialized agencies. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Paul Casanova, President, and Viviana Pendrill, Creative Director, started the Irvine, California agency in 1984. Today, the agency's billings exceed $50 million and its staff includes 70 professionals in the areas of media, advertising and promotion. In billings, it is ranked among the top tier of Hispanic agencies nationally and within the top 50 among all West Coast ad agencies. Casanova Pendrill's list of blue-chip clients includes the California Lottery, Coors Brewing Company, DirecTV, General Mills, Home Depot, Qwest, Pueblo Corp. and Marbro, Inc.

Casanova Pendrill will continue to be headed by its current management and remain headquartered in Irvine, Calif. Paul Casanova said, "We're delighted to become part of Interpublic. This will allow us to access Interpublic's extensive marketing communications resources on behalf of our clients and offer them a full range of additional services."

Within Interpublic, the agency will be most closely allied with Campbell Mithun Esty (CME), the $904 million Minneapolis-based agency. CME shares a strong U.S. retail and national brand marketing expertise and has a fully integrated marketing communications capability as well.

"Paul and Viviana have built an agency of the highest creative and professional quality," said Bill Dunlap, Chairman, of Campbell-Mithun-Esty. "Their deep understanding of the booming Hispanic market and the caliber of their product complements the scope of services we currently provide our clients."

The Interpublic Group of Companies, one of the largest advertising and marketing communications organizations in the world, is comprised of McCann-Erickson WorldGroup, Lowe Lintas & Partners Worldwide, Western Initiative Media Worldwide, International Public Relations, Octagon, Zentropy Partners and Allied Communications Group and other related companies. Accentmarketing, a U.S. Hispanic and Latin American/Caribbean agency based in Coral Gables, Florida, is also a member of the Interpublic Group.

More information about the Interpublic Group may be found on its website at www.interpublic.com.