DALLAS -- As part of the month-long promotion, 7-Eleven Inc. stores will host exclusive, advance screenings of 20th Century Fox/Marvel Comics' Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (officially release date, June 15) in 20 U.S. cities. It will also offer customers the chance to win four trips, including a walk-on role in a 20th Century Fox movie, and 440 other prizes through an online Fantastic 4 game.
For the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the convenience retailer has created a collectible 44-oz. Super Big Gulp cup featuring the Fantastic 4 [image-nocss] heroes from the movieMr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thingalong with their new nemesis, the Silver Surfer.
We know our customers love movies and have a special affinity for superhero movies, said Doug Foster, 7-Eleven vice president and chief marketing officer. The big wow' for the Slurpee brand in this movie is a product placement because it's a fresh, relevant approach to supporting the iconic beverage.
7-Eleven introduced a Slurpee energy drink with caffeine, ginseng, taurine and guarana in May. It will be the featured flavor for June, as well. In the film, The Thing quenches his thirst by drinking a Slurpee energy drink.
The grand prizes from the promotion include one of four trips, either a 20th Century Fox movie premiere, a walk-on appearance in a Fox feature film, a visit to a 20th-Century Fox movie set, or to play the creator of the new Fantastic 4 video game that will be released June 15 by Take-Two Interactive, the day the movie opens. The other 440 prizes to be awarded include life-size sculptures of the Silver Surfer, the new Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer video game, DVDs of the first Fantastic 4 movie and movie posters.
Superheroes have been around 7-Eleven for 30-plus years, but for most of that time, they appeared on our proprietary drink cups, said Jay Wilkins, category manager for Big Gulp and Slurpee beverages. We still have very cool cups, but today's movies are much bigger events, and the promotions have to be as well. Movie screenings, trips, product placement in movies, online games, special Slurpee colors and concoctions help 7-Eleven stay relevant in the minds of movie fans and consumers.
To capitalize on the popularity of the Slurpee beverage, 7-Eleven began introducing Slurpee collector cups in 1972. Besides superheroes, special Slurpee cups have featured monsters, professional athletes, rock n' roll stars and endangered species. 7-Eleven also has offered surprise Slurpee cups with false bottoms and free prizes, and introduced cups with collectible sports coins on the bottom.
Assisting 7-Eleven with this and other movie promotion activity is FreshWorks of Dallas, the virtual agency created to serve 7-Eleven's advertising and marketing needs.
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