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For immediate release BRANDZ TOP 100 BRANDS SHOWS DRAMATIC GROWTH IN THE FINANCIAL POWER OF BRANDS Valued at $86.1bn, Google tops ranking for second consecutive year New York, New York, 21st April 2008 — The third annual BrandZ ™ Ranking issued today proves that brands are becoming ever more valuable and powerful in driving business growth. Companies that own brands in the BrandZ Top 100 havesignificantly outperformed the stock market when compared to the S&P 500. The new edition of the BrandZ Ranking was announced today by leading global market research and consulting firm Millward Brown. It identifies the world’s most powerful brands as measured by their dollar value. The brand ranking is produced by Millward Brown Optimor, the group dedicated to helping companies maximize returns frombrand and marketing investments. The combined value of all brands in the BrandZ Top 100 increased by 21% from $1.6 trillion in 2007 to $1.94 trillion in 2008, more than double the increase experienced the previous year. Google tops the list again with a brand value of $86.1bn followed by GE at $71.4bn and Microsoft at $70.8bn. “This year’s brand ranking demonstrates the importance of investing inbrands, especially in times of market turmoil. Strong brands generate superior returns and protect businesses from risk,” said Joanna Seddon, CEO of Millward Brown Optimor. “Our data shows that strong brands continue to outperform weak ones in terms of market share and share price during recessions.” The most notable trends emerging from this year's BrandZ Ranking include: 1. Established Asia vsEmerging Asia — Chinese brands continue to get stronger according to the new BrandZ Ranking. Seven brands in this year’s Top 100 come from mature Asian economies: Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong. Their aggregate brand value increased by only 7% in the last year (to $111bn). In contrast, the value of the four Chinese brands that made this year’s BrandZ Top 100 increased by 51% (to $124bn). ChinaMobile, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and ICBC are only just starting to expand beyond China so they have considerable potential for further growth. 2. Continued Rise of the BRICs — Emerging markets play a key role in driving growth for international brands, for example Apple and Gucci. The new BrandZ Ranking shows that domestic brands from emerging economies are gaining momentum. Chinesebrands performed strongly and Russianbased mobile operator MTS entered the ranking at number 89. MTS is the first Russian brand to make the Top 100 list with a brand value of $8.1bn. Other BRIC brands to watch in future brand rankings include Lukoil, Beeline, and Baltika from Russia, ICICI from India, as well as Brahma, Petrobras, and Bradesco from Brazil. 3. Technology Boom — The technology sector(including mobile operators), which accounted for 28 of the top 100 brands, outperformed all other categories in this year’s BrandZ Ranking, with a brand value growth of $187.5bn. This is more than half of the Top 100’s total increase. Commenting on this year's BrandZ Ranking, Eileen Campbell, Global CEO of Millward Brown said: "We've been tracking brand equity on WPP's behalf for 10

years, so weknow what hard work it is and what a fantastic achievement it is for any brand to achieve BrandZ Top 100 status. We'd like to congratulate these companies for their extraordinary performance and commitment to the power of great brands and the role that effective marketing plays in building them. Particularly in a challenging global economy, we were delighted to see such high growth, reconfirmingour assertion that sustained marketing support is a winning strategy, even in tough business conditions." The BrandZ Ranking is the only brand ranking based on primary research — it therefore reflects the perceptions of people who really count — brand users and consumers. Derived from WPP's BrandZ database, the world's largest repository of brand equity data, the BrandZ study has interviewed...