KROGER BRINGS NEW TRADITIONS AND FLAVORS TO THE TABLE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

The 2023 Kroger Holiday Campaign Launches on November 1

CINCINNATI, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), today unveiled its 2023 holiday campaign celebrating the magic of traditions, both new and old. Developed by Kroger's Agency of Record, adam&eveDDB New York, the new campaign serves as a reminder that Kroger is here to support its customers during the holidays, no matter what traditions - or flavors - they bring to the table.

"Kroger knows the importance of family and togetherness and is here to ensure every family can celebrate the traditions that make the festive season richer and more inviting for everyone," said Stuart Aitken, Kroger's Senior Vice President, Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer. "Food connects us all, regardless of who we are or where we're from. This holiday season, Kroger is making it easy for customers to connect over food and create memories in a way that is meaningful to them. Whether honoring lifelong family traditions or creating new ones, no one can connect customers with the foods they love the way Kroger can. This year's film recognizes the importance of family and togetherness and how special it can be to come together over food and create shared memories."    

The new campaign is headlined by a film that brings to life the unique celebrations each family has during the holidays, with food at the center. Created by adam&eveDDB, the film, titled "Cuisine Exchange" sees the return of the brand's animated Kroji characters for a heartfelt narrative set to the popular track of "Photograph" by internationally renowned recording artist, Ed Sheeran.

The :74 film tells the story of a childless couple who decide to host an exchange student. Enamoured by the connective power of food, the couple continue to host exchange students from countries around the world year after year. The story culminates in a heartfelt reunion where all the students and their various meal-time traditions are welcomed home for the holidays.

Jason Ashlock and Paulo Junger, Executive Creative Directors at adam&eveDDB New York said, "Kroger knows that every family celebrates the holidays differently. We wanted to welcome all kinds of traditions to the table. That's what made the idea of a cuisine exchange such a natural fit for the brand. Food truly does connect us all. It was gratifying to see that message come to life with such a high-level of animation craft. We couldn't be happier to continue Kroger's new tradition of heartfelt holiday commercials."

To complement the film, Kroger is rolling out a "Holiday Remix" playlist across retail locations nationwide. The playlist will be hosted on Spotify and feature classic holiday songs, recorded in a variety of languages for a welcoming seasonal experience.

Kroger's cuisine exchange will continue across its social channels through its "Holiday Table" program, hosted by a yet-to-be-announced, beloved TikTok creator and additional well-known guests. In the program, created in collaboration with Dentsu Creative, special guests will connect with people from across the U.S., sharing in culture and community through personal recipes that will be made available to viewers. The program is targeted to launch in mid-November.

The new national campaign will appear on Netflix, cable, streaming and internet with extensions across radio, podcast, and social media. It will run November 1st through December 31st.

View the 2023 holiday film here: www.kroger.com/foodconnectsusall

ABOUT KROGER
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

ABOUT DDB WORLDWIDE
DDB Worldwide (www.ddb.com) is one of the world's largest and most influential advertising and marketing networks which includes DDB branded agencies, along with adam&eveDDB (London, Berlin, New York), DM9 and Africa (both in Brazil), alma (Miami), Mango, Track and Rodgers Townsend. DDB has been named D&AD Agency Network of the Year for three consecutive years 2023, 2022, 2021, and adam&eveDDB has been named D&AD Agency of the Year 2023. In addition, DDB was awarded Effies US Agency of the Year 2022 and 2023, Asia Pacific Network of the Year 2022 Spikes Asia, #3 Global Network of the Year in 2022 and #1 Global Network of the Year in 2023 by the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, Network of the Year ADC in 2021, Network of the Year El Ojo 2021 and 2022, as well as numerous accolades from the industry's leading advertising publications and awards shows. WARC has listed DDB as one of the Top 3 Global Networks for 12 of the last 15 years. The network's clients include Molson Coors, Volkswagen, McDonald's, Unilever, Mars, Peloton, JetBlue, Adidas, Lucozade, CALM, PlayStation, Marmite, Waitrose & Partners, and the U.S. Army, among others. Founded in 1949, DDB is part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC) and consists of approximately 10,000 employees across over 140 offices in over 60 countries, with its flagship office in New York, NY.      

SOURCE The Kroger Co.