CHARGES OVER OGILVY DRUG ADS:

Two Executives Accused Of Conspiring To Fake Documents To Overcharge
Government For Media Campaign

NEW YORK -- The finance director of Ogilvy & Mather, the WPP Group
advertising agency, and a former executive were indicted yesterday on
charges that they schemed to overcharge the US government for an anti-drug
media campaign.

Thomas Early, a senior partner at Ogilvy, and Shona Seifert, who left the
agency to become president of Omnicom Group's TBWA/ Chiat/Day, are accused
of instructing employees to revise time sheets from May 1999 through April
2000 and then submitting the false documents to the White House's Office of
National Drug Control Policy.

The indictment brings to a head a long-running controversy over Ogilvy's
work for the ONDCP, which began in 1998 with a one-year contract to kick
off a campaign expected to be worth Dollars 684m over five years.
Government officials questioned the agency's billing practices as early as
2000, prompting the White House to withhold payments.

In 2001, General Accounting Office investigators concluded that Ogilvy had
overbilled the ONDCP by Dollars 7.6m and referred the case to the Justice
Department. Ogilvy - which created the high-profile 2002 Superbowl
television spot linking drug use to terrorism - continued to win renewals
on the contract despite opposition from US legislators.

But the agency did admit to record-keeping "missteps" and, in 2002, paid a
Dollars 1.8m settlement to resolve civil charges.

Ogilvy said yesterday it that was proud of its work for the ONDCP and the
steps it had taken to improve its billing procedures. It added that if the
charges against Mr Early and Ms Seifert are found to be true "their
behaviour was inconsistent with the high standards the company promotes and
maintains".

Ms Seifert, who has been at TBWA since 2002, issued a statement denying any
wrongdoing. Mr Early's lawyers could not be reached for comment.

David Kelley, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has
charged both executives with one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of false
claims. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison and a Dollars
250,000 fine on each of the 11 counts.

The court could also decide to make the monetary penalty equal to twice the
gross gain or loss resulting from the crime. The case, due to be presented
in a Manhattan court today, is likely to be watched closely by the
advertising industry. Agencies face increasing pressure from clients to
break down their billable costs and justify their fees.

Ogilvy's initial contract with the ONDCP was a cost-plus-fixed-fee
agreement that entitled the agency to be reimbursed for expenses incurred
by employees working on the account.

Mr Kelley alleges that Mr Early and Ms Seifert orchestrated their
overcharging "scheme" after realising that labour billings were running
significantly lower than they had expected.