7-Eleven Becomes Simpsons’ Kwik-E-Mart

The marketing tie-in of the decade links the July 27th release of “The Simpsons” movie with 7-Eleven, Inc. Over the week-end, a dozen of the convenience stores turned into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional chain where Homer buys his beer and anniversary presents. The campaign is paid for entirely by 7-Eleven, and it could be the most effective buy they’ll do for a long time.

Bobbi Merkel, an executive for 7-Eleven’s advertising agency, FreshWorks, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc., told MSNBC, “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. It shows they [7-Eleven] get the joke.” However, it goes beyond just making over a dozen shops. Merkel said, “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.”

Now they have. In a big case of what is called reverse product placement (moving fake products from TV and movies into the real world of commerce), Buzz Cola, KrustyO’s cereal and Squishees, the slushy drink knockoff of Slurpees, will all be available. MSNBC says, “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.”

There is a small risk that the move will backfire. The Kwik-E-Mart of Simpsons fame is run by an Indian gentleman with a noticeable accent by the name of Apu. This stereotype could upset certain thin-skinned folks, but the beauty of “The Simpsons” is in making fun of everyone more or less equally while turning them into individual human beings in each episode. Kumar Assandas, a 28-year-old franchisee whose parents emigrated from India, turned his suburban Las Vegas store into one of the 12 Kwik-E-Marts. “I know it’s a stereotype, but it doesn’t bother me. Everybody knows it’s a joke,” Mr. Assandas said. “I’m a big Simpsons fan myself, and maybe subconsciously it even inspired me to become a 7-Eleven owner.”

And they drew the line at selling Duff Beer, Homer’s brand. Selling that in a tie-in to a PG-13 movie seemed a bit like promoting under-age drinking. Rita Bargerhuff, a 7-Eleven marketing executive, explained, “That was a tough call, but we want to make sure it’s considered good, responsible fun.” Maybe they got that wrong, but they have proved that there are people in the business world with the ability to laugh at themselves and their brand. And that, actually, makes a corporation more attractive to consumers.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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