• Patients and families at St. Jude take a trip to the North Pole without ever leaving the hospital via a 180-degree digital wall in the hospital lobby and in-room TV streaming
• Kia will make a donation for every new car purchased this holiday season during Kia’s “Season of Giving Back”. The company will give a minimum of $1 million¹ to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help aid cancer research and treatment

IRVINE, Calif., December 8, 2022 – Kia America is continuing to “Accelerate The Good” this holiday season by expanding its partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in an effort to bring the joy and magic of the holiday season directly to St. Jude patients and families. Created by David&Goliath (D&G), Kia’s creative agency of record, the “Season of Giving Back” campaign gives children at St. Jude and their parents the gift of a virtual trip to the North Pole without ever having to leave the comfort and safety of the St. Jude campus. For the first time in the hospital’s history, the TV spot was filmed on-site at St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to airing on television, the video will be available on the St. Jude in-house television network.

The centerpiece of the campaign is a :60-second broadcast spot titled, “Holiday Joyride.” For the commercial, Kia constructed a custom 50- by 100-foot set which included 296 curved LED screens surrounding an all-electric Kia EV6 mounted on a system of hydraulic compressors.  

The commercial opens with St. Jude patient Adalyn sitting safely in the backseat of the EV6, which ‘travels’ through a tunnel of red and green star-shaped arches created by the curved screens. The LED screens slowly transition to depict a star-filled night sky as a personalized welcome message appears featuring the patient’s name. As the EV6 is gently lifted and lowered to simulate the experience of driving, the virtual landscape reveals a forest filled with majestic snow-covered pine trees, a galloping reindeer, a soaring eagle and a narwhal moving across the sky. The excitement and joy of being transported to this mystical winter wonderland shine on Adalyn’s face as the EV6 ascends above the rooftops of the North Pole.

“Helping those in need is at the heart of the Kia brand and we are proud to support St. Jude with our ‘Season of Giving Back’,” said Russell Wager, vice president, marketing, Kia America. “We hope to provide holiday cheer to those families that are facing the most difficult of circumstances with dignity, bravery, and grace. Kia is honored to be a small part of the impact St. Jude has on so many.”

In November, Kia America announced that the brand will donate a minimum of $1,000,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The donation represents the brand’s third act of giving to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital this year as part of Kia’s “Accelerate The Good” charitable initiative, which has donated more than $14 million to various causes since 2019. Previously this year, Kia donated to St. Jude as part of the 10 millionth Kia vehicle sold in the U.S., and again as part of the groundbreaking announcement for a new assembly plant in the state of Georgia.

“With creativity rooted in purpose, Kia America helped put smiles on some St. Jude patients’ faces this holiday season by taking them on a light-filled journey to the North Pole,” said Richard C. Shadyac, Jr., president and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “We have such gratitude for our partnership with Kia and its dealer network, whose support helps to ensure that no family will receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food so that they can focus on helping their child live.” 

In addition to the broadcast spot and monetary donation, the campaign includes, :30,:15,:06 cutdowns of “Holiday Joyride” for use on digital platforms. The campaign will also feature broadcast radio, OOH, print, point-of-sale and social media extensions.

To accelerate progress globally and help kids everywhere, support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital^® by donating at stjude.org.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.^® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and it won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

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