7-Eleven Turns Into Kwik-E-Mart

[x635 4,066]

This is a cool concept!

Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart? 7-Eleven does

By DAVID KOENIG

AP Business Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- Over the weekend, 7-Eleven Inc. turned a dozen stores into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience stores of "The Simpsons" fame, in the latest example of marketers making life imitate art.

Those stores and most of the 6,000-plus other 7-Elevens in North America will sell items that until now existed only on television: Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal and Squishees, the slushy drink knockoff of Slurpees.

It's all part of a campaign to hype the July 27 opening of "The Simpsons Movie," the big-screen debut for the long-running television cartoon, which loves to lampoon 7-Eleven as a store that sells all kinds of unhealthy snacks and is run by a man with a thick Indian accent.

For 20th Century Fox Film Corp. and Homer's creators at Gracie Films, the stunt is a cheap way to call attention to their movie, since 7-Eleven is bearing all the costs, which executives of the retail chain put at somewhere in the single millions.

At 7-Eleven, they're hoping it shows the ubiquitous chain has a trait seen in few corporations - the ability to laugh at themselves.

"We thought if you really want to do something different, the idea of actually changing stores into Kwik-E-Marts was over the top but a natural," said Bobbi Merkel, an executive for of 7-Eleven's advertising agency, FreshWorks, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. "It shows they get the joke."

The monthlong promotion has been rumored a long time - it's hard to keep a secret known by so many suppliers and franchisees - but 7-Eleven managed to keep the locations of the stores quiet until early Sunday morning. That's when the exteriors of 11 U.S. stores and one in Canada were flocked in industrial foam and given new signs to replicate the animated look of Kwik-E-Marts.

The U.S. locations where a 7-Eleven store was transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart are New York City; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Burbank, Calif.; Los Angeles; Henderson, Nev.; Orlando, Fla.; Mountain View, Calif.; Seattle; and Bladensburg, Md.

The idea grew out of conversations between Fox and 7-Eleven's advertising agency.

"We wanted to make sure the movie stands out as a true cultural event this summer," said Lisa Licht, a marketing vice president at Fox. "It has to stand out from other summer movies and TV shows."

The Fox/7-Eleven deal is an example of a practice called reverse product placement. Instead of just putting products prominently in a movie or TV show, fake goods move from the screen to reality.

In some cases, 7-Eleven has contracted with manufacturers of similar products to make their Kwik-E-Mart counterparts. Malt-O-Meal, the Northfield, Minn., cereal maker, will conjure up a recipe for KrustyO's, for example. In others, existing products will simply be renamed. One flavor of 7-Eleven's own Slurpee will be sold as "WooHoo! Blue Vanilla" Squishee for the month.

Other recent examples of reverse product placement include Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which spun out of the Harry Potter books and movies, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurants, which opened after the movie "Forrest Gump." 7-Eleven has done other movie-themed promotions, including one this spring for the latest Spiderman installment.

After Fox pitched a 7-Eleven tie-in last year, representatives from the studio, the stores, and Gracie Films - including Simpsons creator Matt Groening and executive producer James L. Brooks, met in Los Angeles to kick around ideas. Brooks added one - holding a contest to let one fan be drawn into a future episode of the TV show.

7-Eleven executives loved the idea. They had surveys showing a strong overlap between their customers and fans of the show - both tend to be young and male. It sounded like cash registers ringing.

"They've been looking at Squishees and KrustyO's and Buzz Cola for years and have never been able to put their hands on it," said Merkel, the advertising executive.

But they won't find Duff beer, the brand chugged by Homer Simpson. The movie will be rated PG-13, and selling a Simpson-themed beer "didn't seem to fit," said Rita Bargerhuff, a 7-Eleven marketing executive. "That was a tough call, but we want to make sure it's considered good, responsible fun."

Bargerhuff predicted extra sales to Simpsons fans will more than offset the cost of the promotion and create new customers for the chain. She also said the chain is prepared for crowds and will have extra security and clerks at the Kwik-E-Marts.

The promotion, however, is not risk-free. The proprietor of Kwik-E-Mart is a man named Apu who speaks in a heavy Indian accent. He is based on a manager Groening encountered while shopping at a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles nearly 20 years ago and plays to stereotypes about convenience-store operators and Asian immigrants.

Many of 7-Eleven's franchisees are Indian, company officials say, although they say they don't track exact numbers. Bargerhuff said they were "overwhelmingly positive" after hearing of the Kwik-E-Mart idea, but "it was not a 100 percent endorsement."

"There was definitely a concern of offending people," she said. "But they seemed to understand that 'The Simpsons' makes fun of everybody. The vast majority saw this as a great opportunity."

That's the case for Kumar Assandas, a 28-year-old franchisee whose parents immigrated from India. His store in suburban Las Vegas is one of the temporary Kwik-E-Marts.

"I know it's a stereotype, but it doesn't bother me. Everybody knows it's a joke," Assandas said. "I'm a big Simpsons fan myself, and maybe subconsciously it even inspired me to become a 7-Eleven owner."

[Guest pentax02839]

very intresting idea.

[Guest]

What was the name of the store Jay and Silent Bob hung out in front of?

[RescueKujo 130]

How come when I heard about this the phrase "would you like a slurpee with your beef jerky" popped into my head??

[x242Steve 1]

What was the name of the store Jay and Silent Bob hung out in front of?

Quick Stop Groceries

[ailc307 1]

Big PR move! Its pretty cool though!

[x242Steve 1]

How come when I heard about this the phrase "would you like a slurpee with your beef jerky" popped into my head??

Homer Simpson: I'm feeling kind of low, Apu. Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau.

Apu: Such a product does not exist, sir. I think you must have dreamed it.

Homer Simpson: Oh ... well, then just give me a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.

[RescueKujo 130]

Homer Simpson: I'm feeling kind of low, Apu. Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau.

Apu: Such a product does not exist, sir. I think you must have dreamed it.

Homer Simpson: Oh ... well, then just give me a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.

Skittlebrau, is that like the idea of Slim Jim straws?? Drill a hole down the center of a Slim Jim and drink your beer through it?? Brillant!

(Courtesy of Bill Engvall, professional comedian, as opposed to me, a hopeless amateur)

[sr71 1]

Thats a sweet idea.......lol

[SBVFD524 0]

wish i had a 7-11 around here

[JM15 386]

that is so cool I wish the 7-11 on RT.100 in Somers became a quik-E-Mart. I'm sure that a lot of that merchandise that they are selling is probabally going to be collectors items one day

[OoO 24]

If anyone's interested the nearest Kwik-e-mart is 345 W. 42nd Street in Manhattan.

[IzzyEng4 427]

"THANK YOU, COME AGAIN!"

[AFS1970 504]

Let's not forget "Half off on Expired Baby Food"

Now the big question is since there is one not too far from Broadway......will they make a squishee made entirely of syryp?

[FDNY 10-75 640]

I would be interested, just to go get a photo of one of these places. Maybe that is justification for a trip to Manhattan...

[grumpyff 1,159]

I stopped by Kwik-E-Mart Saturday, it is right around the corner from my command. here are a few photos I took..

[grumpyff 1,159]

and on the inside...

[grumpyff 1,159]

three more photos. They are selling merchandise such as 'Krusty O's' cereal, Buzz Cola, bobble heads, etc

[Guest]

that is so cool I wish the 7-11 on RT.100 in Somers became a quik-E-Mart. I'm sure that a lot of that merchandise that they are selling is probabally going to be collectors items one day

Thats what we are all hoping down here in Bladensburg. The Kwiki-E-Mart is right across the street from the firehouse and we have all been stocking up with Krusty O's and Buzz soda, hoping that they will be selling for a good price when the movie comes out and well after. The employees wear special shirts now also that are worth $300. A man the other day offered one $250 cash but was turned down. To bad no Duff beer!