Maker of OREO, RITZ BITS and CHIPS AHOY! #PassTheLoveBack to Local Communities

Official Snacks of U.S. Soccer and MLS Give Local Teams All-Star Treatment

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Apr 21, 2016, 11:46 ET

DEERFIELD, Ill., April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Your local soccer team could be getting the All-Star treatment – with the help of some iconic snack brands.

Today Mondelēz International, maker of OREO cookies, RITZ BITS crackers and CHIPS AHOY! cookies, announced a continued commitment to soccer through the #PassTheLoveBack campaign. For the third straight year, this multi-brand program from the Official Snacks of U.S. Soccer and the Official Snacks of Major League Soccer will leverage U.S. Women's National Team forward Alex Morgan and some of the most popular players and organizations in the sport – with a strong focus on rallying support for the local teams and communities who play and cheer the games coast to coast.

"Our snack brands have a very natural connection to soccer at the local level, and if you look in the stands or in the post-game celebrations chances are you'll find them there," said Stephen Chriss, Sr. Director for North America Marketing Activation & Strategic Partnerships at Mondelēz International. "We take a lot of pride in this connection to local communities, so we're extremely excited to evolve our popular soccer campaign to #PassTheLoveBack to the teams, players and parents who show their passion for soccer day in day, day out."

When it comes to soccer equipment and resources, local teams often have to find ways to support themselves. So the #PassTheLoveBack campaign will help bridge the divide and connect teams with enhancements. Through May 31, communities are encouraged to recruit friends and family to visit www.PassTheLove.com to support their local soccer teams in earning up to $1,000 for custom T-shirts or team donations.

This will be an integrated campaign supported by thousands of custom #PassTheLoveBack multi-pack snack packs that include OREO cookies, RITZ BITS crackers and CHIPS AHOY! cookies. The campaign also will include retail displays; shopper marketing programs; breakthrough real-time social content; interactive consumer events; and public relations.

This is the third year the Official Snacks of U.S. Soccer have prompted fans to "Pass the Love." In 2014 and 2015, the campaign rallied messages of support for the U.S. Men's National Team and the U.S. Women's National Team as they competed in the largest international soccer tournaments on earth.

Alex Morgan, who began her collaboration with the Official Snacks of U.S. Soccer in 2014 and helped lead the USWNT to a thrilling victory in Canada last summer, is excited to see the campaign rallying support at the local level.

"Growing up playing youth soccer, fundraisers were a huge part of my experience," said U.S. Soccer star Alex Morgan, who has worked with Mondelēz International since 2014. "The soccer community is incredibly supportive of one another, and I'm excited to see brands like OREO, RITZ BITS and CHIPS AHOY! generating support nationally for players and teams in our communities."

The designations of Official Snacks of U.S. Soccer and MLS extend to the cookie, candy, cracker and gum categories and are inclusive of a series of well-recognized brands operated by Mondelēz International, including: OREO, CHIPS AHOY, RITZ, WHEAT THINS, HONEY MAID, NEWTONS, BELVITA, TRIDENT, DENTYNE, STRIDE and SOUR PATCH KIDS, among others.

About Mondelēz International

Mondelēz International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is a global snacking powerhouse, with 2015 net revenues of approximately $30 billion. Creating delicious moments of joy in 165 countries, Mondelēz International is a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages, with billion-dollar brands such as Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; and Trident gum. Mondelēz International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor's 500, NASDAQ 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDLZ.