Columbia Pictures, which has acquired the film rights to Robert Littell's spy saga The Company, is helping to back a new $100,000 advertising campaign planned by Overlook Press and its spoken-word audiobook publishing partner, New Millennium. According to Overlook president Peter Mayer, most of the money will go for newspaper ads in nine major cities, including New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas. In addition, ads are scheduled for the New Yorker and USA Today. Nearly all of the ads will appear before June 16, Father's Day.

Mayer said he decided to launch the new promotional effort because of ongoing review coverage for the 700-page thriller. Following a front-page review in the Washington Post Book World, the book has received widespread attention, including a recent positive review in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Company is now in its fourth printing, with more than 100,000 copies in print.