DALLAS – 7-Eleven Inc. is expecting fantastic success when Marvel Comics’ “first family of superheroes” – the Fantastic 4 – flies into stores this month to coincide with the June 15 release of 20th Century Fox’s new movie, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
As part of the month-long promotion, 7-Eleven stores will host exclusive, advance screenings of Rise of the Silver Surfer in 20 U.S. cities and 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.
A 7-Eleven promotion is not complete without the requisite collectible cup. For the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the world’s largest convenience retailer has created a collectible 44-ounce Super Big Gulp cup featuring the Fantastic 4 heroes from the movie – Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing – along with their new nemesis, the Silver Surfer. The Thing character can be seen quenching his thirst by drinking a Slurpee beverage in the new Fantastic 4 movie.
“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.”
The July NACS Magazine will look at how and why convenience stores are portrayed in the movies.