The news: Coca-Cola’s latest ad campaign features over a dozen restaurant chains, a first as it tries to reassert its position as the soda brand of choice for fast-food companies.

The ads feature Wendy’s, Domino’s, Popeye’s, and Wingstop, alongside nine other quick-service chains. Those companies were chosen to show how Coke fits across a range of cuisines and fast-food occasions, and they did not pay to be featured.

The campaign will debut in movie theaters; later this month, it will expand to linear, digital, and social channels, as well as delivery platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Why it matters: The campaign underscores the symbiotic relationship between Coca-Cola and its foodservice partners. Coca-Cola’s standing in fast food is rooted in part in its long-standing partnership with McDonald’s. Any slowdown for restaurants has repercussions for the soda company, given that roughly half of its sales come from away-from-home channels like QSRs.

With rising gas prices and economic uncertainty beginning to eat away at restaurant spending, Coca-Cola is doing what it can to shore up sales for its foodservice partners.

• Traffic to US restaurants was down 2% YoY in February, per Black Box Intelligence data cited by CNBC.
• At the same time, restaurant spending is the top category for cuts among shoppers looking to save money as prices rise amid the current war in Iran.

The implications: While Coca-Cola pointed to the overall health of the North American consumer in its most recent earnings report, a decline in restaurant spending would be painful. “If food service catches a cold in the North America operating unit, North America will catch a cold,” Dagmar Boggs, Coke’s North American president of foodservice and on-premise, told CNBC.

Offering restaurants free ad exposure could help them shore up sales—while also reinforcing Coca-Cola’s value as a partner.