Some 7-11s Become Kwik-E-Marts

caffiend666 writes "According to a Yahoo News story some 7-11s are being rebranded into Simpsons 'Kwik-E-Marts' . The makeover includes fronting on the buildings that make it look like a cartoon, Simpsons merchandise on the shelves, and Simpsons show brands available for purchase in the store. From the article: '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 ... Customers have been looking at Squishees and KrustyO's and Buzz Cola for years and have never been able to put their hands on it.' Since the film is PG-13, no Duff beer will be available in the stores." If you're looking for one near you, 7-11 has the list of locations on their website.

Comments

Not the first time.

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Although this time is sanctioned, its not the first time Simpsons products have made it into real life. About 10 years ago, an Australian brewery started brewing Duff beer. Fox sued, the beer was pulled.

Anyone who managed to get their hands on some Duff were lucky. Empty beer cans went for $20 or more on ebay.

Re:Not the first time.

[G-funk]

I collect beers, and have a full can of Duff... That, my Darwin Stubby (they still make them), and an old tin XXXX from god knows when (it's in flOz) are my faves. All full too. I've got mates who drank a few cartons of Duff when it was available, they're not real happy about that. 'Specially since it wasn't really good :)

Re:Not the first time.

[ultracool]

In Dunedin, New Zealand (where I live), we have McDuff's beer. There is a brewery and everything. It used to be just Duff, but after a legal dispute with Fox, they wound up changing the name.

Re:Not the first time.

[mgblst]

It is about collecting things. Collectors usually prefer unopened items (like those star wars figures - they are worth more when they are still in their plastic containers).

{RANT ON}
Personally I hate collectors. My gf dad is a big one. It is a pretty big indication of how selfish and greedy we are in the west, that we prize this stupid old crap, and artificially inflate the value of trash like this. As you say, the beer would have gone of. I see collecting more as a psychological disease. A sickness that comes about from having too much money and space. A disease of the wealth.

{/RANT ON}

NOT the first time it's happened

[ajs318]

Actually, the first time this happened was in the UK.

Way back in 1992 or 1993 or thereabouts (sometime between Tracey Langton going upstairs to get a book and coming back down following an apparent head transplant), there was a fictitious supermarket called "Bettabuy" in Coronation Street, managed by Reg Holdsworth. The scenes were filmed on location in a branch of Morrisons. Morrisons launched a range of "economy" products (you know; the ones that are packaged to look like UN disaster relief, in the hope that you'll find a few extra pennies to rub together and buy something that doesn't mark you out to the checkout operator and all the other customers in the store as either a miser or a pov) under the name "Bettabuy" in honour of this.

It somehow managed to slip under the radar (product placement is illegal on British telly, even on the stations which accept advertisements; quiz shows are not allowed to announce the names of the sponsors of their prizes, and even mentioning specific brand names is frowned upon) probably because the product being advertised was one that people would actively avoid if given the choice.

Re:Photos

[Yusaku Godai]

Not to mention, there's a scene in the trailer for the movie that made me burst into laughter.

Bart and Flanders are climbing to the top of some mountain, and Flanders says something like "From up here you can see the four states that border Springfield: Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky."

I think that pretty much closes the issue.