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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1
                               [LAMAR LETTERHEAD]


Company Contact:   Keith Istre, CFO
                   (225) 926-1000



                    LAMAR ADVERTISING COMPLETES $250 MILLION
                           CONVERTIBLE NOTES OFFERING




         BATON ROUGE, La - (BUSINESS WIRE) --- August 10, 1999 --- Lamar
Advertising Company (NASDAQ: LAMR) announced today that it has completed the
sale of $250,000,000 of Convertible Notes through Goldman Sachs & Co., Deutsche
Banc Alex. Brown, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Salomon Smith Barney as
underwriters. The Convertible Notes will bear interest at the rate of 5.25% per
annum and will be convertible into shares of Lamar Advertising's Class A common
stock at an initial conversion price of $46.25 per share. The approximately
$242,900,000 proceeds from the sale of the Convertible Notes will be used to pay
existing bank debt. The underwriters also have an over-allotment option to
purchase up to an additional $37,500,000 of Convertible Notes, which they may
exercise at any time on or before September 3, 1999.

         The offering of the Convertible Notes may be made only by means of a
prospectus, a copy of which can be obtained from Lamar Advertising at 5551
Corporate Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA 70896 or Goldman, Sachs & Co. at 85 Broad
Street, New York, NY 10004.

         Lamar Advertising is a leading outdoor advertising company currently
operating 107 outdoor advertising companies in 36 states, logo sign contracts in
20 states and the Province of Ontario, Canada and 23 transit advertising
operations in nine states.