Whistle

WENDYS AND DR PEPPER PARTNER WITH TEAM WHISTLE, TO CELEBRATE PERFECT PAIRINGS THIS COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON WITH NEW HOME TEAM SERIES

Series Features Christian Kirk, Former College Football Player at Texas A&M and Fiancee, Ozzy Ozkan, and Will Anderson and Brian Branch, Football Players for the Alabama Crimson Tide

NEW YORK – (November 11, 2022) – Wendy's® and Dr Pepper® are celebrating their perfect pairing this college football season, by partnering with Team Whistle, the global sports media and entertainment company, on new original series, ‘Home Team’ premiering on Monday, November 7 on Whistle’s YouTube page, and across their social media handles. The series brings together notable duos of current or former college football players, and their at-home or on the field teammates, as we get to know them better through a light-hearted backyard competition and fun Q&A that gives fans an all-access look into their relationships through intimate quirks and funny stories. Each episode will reveal why these teammates are the perfect pairing, like the winning combination of Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger and Dr. Pepper.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Team Whistle to celebrate perfect pairings (just like the Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger and ice cold Dr. Pepper), both on and off the field this college football season,” said Jimmy Bennett, Vice President of Media and Social, at Wendy’s. Through the ‘Home Team’ series and its natively created social assets, we’ll be able to reach Gen Z and Millennial audiences across platforms.”

"My Fiancee, Ozzy, and I are thrilled to be tapped as a perfect pairing participating in the ‘Home Team’ series this college football season,‘’ said Christian Kirk. “It was really fun being able to give fans a glimpse into our relationship at home.”

“At Team Whistle, we know how to authentically incorporate brands into complementary original programming, that allows young audiences to intimately get to know athletes and entertainers off the court and field, '' said Corey Radel, VP of Brand Partnerships at Team Whistle. “Home Team’ provided a natural way to integrate Wendy’s and Dr Pepper’s desire to lean into being a perfect pairing, like the talent we utilized.”

In the premiere episode, Christian Kirk, a former college football player at Texas A&M and his fiancee, Ozzy Ozkan, test each other in a series of trivia and physical challenges. Along the way our pair will accrue points for questions answered correctly or challenges won. In the second episode, we follow Will Anderson and Brian Branch, two football players from for the Alabama Crimson Tide as they divulge their love as teammates and friends. The episodes build to “The Envelope of Shame” segment - which is opened by the loser after a victor is crowned. Our loser is humbled by their partner with a playful consequence. In addition to the episodes, social-first complementary content like “fast food favorites,” will be designed to extend the conversation among Gen Z and Millennial audiences across TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.

ABOUT WENDY'S:

Wendy's was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio. Dave built his business on the premise, "Quality Is Our Recipe®", which remains the guidepost of the Wendy's system. Wendy's is best known for its made-to-order square hamburgers, using fresh, never frozen beef***, freshly-prepared salads, and other signature items like chili, baked potatoes and the Frosty dessert. The Wendy's Company (Nasdaq: WEN) is committed to doing the right thing and making a positive difference in the lives of others. This is most visible through the Company's support of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and its signature Wendy's Wonderful Kids® program, which seeks to find a loving, forever home for every child in the North American foster care system. Today, Wendy's and its franchisees employ hundreds of thousands of people across approximately 7,000 restaurants worldwide with a vision of becoming the world's most thriving and beloved restaurant brand. For details on franchising, connect with us at www.wendys.com/franchising. Visit www.wendys.com and www.squaredealblog.com for more information and connect with us on Twitter and Instagram using @wendys, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wendys.

***Fresh beef available in the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada.

About Team Whistle:

Team Whistle is an Eleven Group sports and entertainment media company built to engage and activate today’s generation, wherever they consume content globally. As a pioneer in data-driven content creation and distribution, Whistle has a positive and relatable original content slate of 50+ shows and a creator network that generates 4.7B views per month across social platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, positioning it as a top ten ranked US media sports property on ComScore. Team Whistle owns Whistle TV, its free ad-supported digital network available on The Roku Channel and other OTT platforms including: Samsung TV Plus, Vizio, TCL, Plex, DistroTV, STIRR, and LocalNow, which currently reaches over 70M US households. With these deep ties to social and streaming platforms, Team Whistle’s internal agency “MAGNET,” provides social first content strategies to brands, leagues and platforms to reach untapped audiences and create revenue opportunities.



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Contact:

Stacey Richman

srichman@teamwhistle.com

973-219-5872