Bell Atlantic: Into the Future With New Corporate Advertising Campaign

September 19, 1996

Bell Atlantic: Into the Future
With New Corporate
Advertising Campaign

Customers see a new company poised to meet every communications
need

ARLINGTON, Va. -- It is a growing demand among the
millions of communications customers along the East coast: Offer us
packages that include local, long distance, cellular, data, Internet and
video services. Make them affordable. Deliver them with one call. And
offer them now.

Bell Atlantic has been listening. And in a new corporate image
advertising campaign unveiled today, the company demonstrates it's poised
to be more than the community's trusted local telephone provider. A
series of powerful messages shows Bell Atlantic has grown into a fierce
competitor, ready to guide customers into the future by focusing on their
communications needs.

Two 30-second television commercials will debut tonight during the
networks' hottest prime time programs, in the eight major media markets
serving Bell Atlantic customers. Companion print ads debut today; transit
ads will appear in the same markets beginning in November. (See a
new print ad.)

"The ads look different because we intend to be
different," said Patrick C.G. Coulter, vice president - corporate
communications, Bell Atlantic. "Creative images dramatize that Bell
Atlantic has the resources and the technology to carry our customers into
the future."

The ads were developed by Bell Atlantic Corporate Advertising and
Saatchi and Saatchi. The television campaign features the trusted voice
of spokesman James Earl Jones. This is the company's first television
campaign shot in black and white, a medium enjoying a resurgence in
popularity in music videos and avant-garde films.

"This campaign is about the limitless possibilities of your
ideas," Coulter said. "When you have a thought, we'll give you
the communications services to bring it to fruition."

Coulter noted that this initial launch marks phase one of a
three-phase advertising campaign. "Phases One and Two will
characterize how we're changing our focus to meet customer needs even
better and to carry our customers into the future," he noted.
"In Phase Three, we'll join our partners at NYNEX to introduce you to
the new company that will bring you those services from Maine to
Virginia."

The new Bell Atlantic ads will appear in the New York
metropolitan area, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.,
Charleston/Huntington, W.Va., and the Richmond and Tidewater areas of
Virginia.

Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE: BEL) is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the
mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local
telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the
largest investors in the high-growth wireless communication
marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in
Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing
high-growth national and international business opportunities in all
phases of the industry.

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Media contacts:

Shirley Risoldi, 412-633-5574
shirley.a.risoldi@bell-atl.com

Shannon Fioravanti, 703-974-5455
shannon.l.fioravanti@bell-atl.com