ATLANTA - As part of Southern Company’s comprehensive brand strategy for 2002, the company today announced it is launching a new advertising campaign to target business and opinion leaders, as well as large energy users.

The advertising campaign will consist of both print and TV ads that will run throughout this year.

Southern Company first began promoting its brand nationally in l997 with a campaign defining Southern Company. This new campaign positions Southern Company’s stability in the region it knows best.

“Southern Company is committed to energy planning for today and for the future,” said Southern Company executive vice president and president for external affairs Dwight Evans. “By continuing to make strategic investments in new generation capacity and discovering ways to minimize costs and to diversify fuel sources, we will be able to meet current and future energy needs of a growing population.”

The first TV ad will debut this weekend during THE PLAYERS Championship PGA TOUR golf tournament on NBC. Additional spots will air starting Monday, March 25, throughout the Southeast on targeted cable networks, such as CNN Headline News, CNN and Fox News.

Print ads will appear in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, BusinessWeek, Better Investing, Bloomberg, Investor’s Business Daily, Forbes, Fortune, Kiplinger and Money Magazine.

Southern Company’s advertising company, Fitzgerald+CO of Atlanta, developed the ad campaign which will include two 30-second commercials that communicate Southern Company`s business strategy of planning ahead to meet future energy needs.

The commercial, "Sunrise," features multiple sunrise/sunsets visually. The second commercial, “Tree,” features the changing seasons of a maple tree.

Both commercials communicate Southern Company’s trusted performance and demonstrate its commitment to serving the fast-growing Southeast. The commercials reference Southern Company’s $10 billion in revenues and $30 billion in assets as a foundation for serving the fast-growing Southeast.

“The campaign was developed to communicate Southern Company’s strength and stability through its commitment to planning for the future, which yields very predictable performance,” said Pam Piligian, senior vice president and group account director for Fitzgerald+CO.

In addition to this year’s national ad campaign, Southern Company will also continue its affiliation with the PGA TOUR by running commercials during key golf broadcasts throughout the year.

With $144 million in billings, Fitzgerald+CO is one of the leading brand-building agencies in the Southeast. Part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, the agency also has a public relations arm, Weber-Shandwick International, and a promotion marketing company, The Botsford Group. The Fitzgerald+CO client list includes AFLAC, Aruba, Atlanta Convention & Visitor`s Bureau, Chiquita Banana North America, Coca-Cola USA, Cryovac, Delta Machinery, Durex, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mentos, Johnston & Murphy, Porter-Cable, PROMINA Health System, The QUIKRETE Cos., Raymond James Financial, The JERZEES division of Russell Corp., Southern Company, SRIXON, and Virginia Energy Choice. For more information about the agency visit www.fitzco.com.

With nearly four million customers and more than 34,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier super-regional energy company in the Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern Company owns five electric utilities, a fast-growing competitive generation company and an energy services business, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company has been named No. 1 on Fortune magazine`s 2002 "Most Admired Company" list in the Electric and Gas Utility industry. Southern Company has more than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the most widely held in the United States. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.