Some 7-11s Become Kwik-E-Marts 264
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.
Thank you, come again. (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Thank you, come again. (Score:4, Funny)
Honesty is the first halting step on the road to integrity. Maybe all this is a good sign.
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Lou: I went to the McDonalds over in Shelbyville the other day.
Chief Wiggum: The Mc-what?
Lou: Yeah, I never heard of it either but they say they have over 2000 locations in this state alone.
Eddie: Hmm...Must've sprung up over night.
Lou: But you know, its the little differences.
Chief Wiggum: Example?
Lou: Well at a McDonalds you can get a Krusty Burger with cheese. But they don't call it a Krusty Bu
Re:Thank you, come again. (Score:4, Funny)
I dooooooooooooooooo...
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(I humbly apologise to my Hindi friends for poking fun)
Not the first time. (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyone who managed to get their hands on some Duff were lucky. Empty beer cans went for $20 or more [ebay.com.au] on ebay.
Re:Not the first time. (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Not the first time. (Score:4, Interesting)
{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}
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Why do you assume collectors always pay more than the cost of materials and labor?
Lots of people collect things that they find along the side of the road, for free. Other people collect stuff like salt and
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I also collect old computer games - I've so many old ones I've bought and not played out that I rarely buy new ones. If there's something I really like I buy it when it's dropped by 30% -
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But not the last (Score:4, Insightful)
Why DOESN'T 7-11 become Kwik-E mart? Nationwide? It would turn the gazillions of shows that will be on independent TV stations and YouTube for the next 30 years into walking, talking, joking advertisements for a nationwide, popular chain! And, it would turn a nationwide chain of convenience stores into a real-life, living, touch-it advertisement for one of the most popular TV show franchises ever!
Pacific Bell became SBC which became ATT in less than 5 years. Somehow, the company has maintained its identity throughout. So why can't a well-off nationwide chain like 7-11? If they rebranded some generic beer (think Miller) as "Duff Beer", it'd be a shoe-in!
I love the Simpsons, it's been an indelible part of our family culture for years. Seriously - why not?
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Why DOESN'T 7-11 become Kwik-E mart? Nationwide?
Perhaps it's a trademark issue?
There's already something called Quickie Convenience [quickiestores.com] stores in Canada. The stores were founded in 1973, when the Simpsons debuted in 1987 (as short sketches.) Even if it isn't a protected trademark in the United States, there will be a problem should Quickie expand across countries.
I'm not a lawyer and thus can't really tell if a trademark is being "violated" here. However, the name sounds very similar to each other.
Re:But not the last (Score:5, Insightful)
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In a suburb of Pittsburgh where I am from and travel to frequently, there is almost NO 7-Elevens. How can one area have so many and another have almost none? Strange.
Because other chains are more prevalent. There are several Pennsylvania based convienence store chaise: Sheetz, Uni-Mart, Co-Go's, Country Fair, and probably others which I'm forgetting. If one were to open a new convenience store, there are many good reasons to choose to franchise a brand which is already common in your region. Advertising, for one, since you will gain benefit from corporate advertising. I often see Sheetz ads. I almost never see 7-11 ads.
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I wouldn't suggest that Miller actually changes it's name to Duff, simply that they release a brand of Duff beer, based on Miller or something like that.
Also, if you don't mind me asking, in what episode do you figure that Simpsons "jumped the shark"?
Yeah, and... (Score:2, Funny)
This is a first, and you're making insipid comments to karma whore. I'm calling shenanigans.
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Why would the film rating have a bearing on whether or not the Kwik-E-Mart shops sell Duff beer?
Re:Not the first time. (Score:4, Insightful)
For the same reason that Joe Camel doesn't sell cigarettes anymore.
Re:Not the first time. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Not the first time. (Score:4, Informative)
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Although this time is sanctioned, its not the first time Simpsons products have made it into real life
A restaurant chain in Australia also goes by the name Lazy Moes [google.com.au]. They use signage which definitely appears to be in a similar style to that on the Simpsons. At least to the same extent as the popular culture references used in the show.
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Photos (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Photos (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Photos (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
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Totally offtopic, but what's the "pendant" tag do?
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Doh! Its probably Michigan! (Score:2, Interesting)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&sad dr=Springfield,+MI&daddr=Shelbyville,+Allegan,+Mic higan,+United+States&sll=41.197365,-87.639245&sspn =5.496636,10.283203&ie=UTF8&z=10&om=1 [google.com]
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Can you get... (Score:5, Funny)
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At least tell me they will let you order an "all syrup Squishee"...
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http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Bertie-Botts-B
YEs but, any skittlebrow? (Score:5, Funny)
Let's go for full reality (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Let's go for full reality (Score:4, Funny)
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I will have none of that chafing rope in my store.
Silly Customer! (Score:2)
(one of my favorite inbox new mail sounds back when I did tech support for computers as gas stations)
Bah (Score:2)
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Whats next? (Score:2)
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WTF? (Score:2)
The movie was based on a book that was *explicitly* about the first President Bush and the Gulf War.
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Read his autobiography!
Partial conversions at other stores (Score:2)
WTF? Where's the angle? (Score:3, Funny)
It sticks out like a sore thumb without one.
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NOT the first time it's happened (Score:4, Interesting)
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.co.uk]. 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.
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Krusty-branded goods already exist (Score:4, Informative)
Authenticity? (Score:5, Funny)
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Will Kwik-E-Marts now be banned from the cartoon ? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Will Kwik-E-Marts now be banned from the cartoo (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Will Kwik-E-Marts now be banned from the cartoo (Score:2)
Duff beer (Score:2, Interesting)
I saw this (Score:3, Funny)
Squishy bender (Score:2)
Ob. Simpsons Reference. (Score:2)
I for one welcome our new 7-11 stores.
Woohoo.
D'oh.
I think that about does it. Thank you, come again.
Canadian store location? (Score:4, Funny)
Oh yeah, no need to tell us the location of the Canadian store because, you know, all we have to do is ask Steve. He lives in Canada, and it's such a small place that everybody knows about everything.
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1198 Landsdowne St, Coquitlam, BC according to 7-eleven.com [7-eleven.com]
Thank you, come again
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Oh no! (Score:2)
No Video games or pinball games at the stores (Score:2)
Helping out a fellow /.-er (Score:2, Interesting)
He's a great human being, volunteering his time as a Rescue Squad Captain, donating his talents to schools and such and was even a volunteer at 9/11 - truly a guy who deserves a helping ha
Springfield VA (Score:2)
this would REALLY change the day (Score:2, Funny)
I'm waiting till Futurama's "Bachelor Chow" bags get shipped to my door.
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A location in a growing and upcoming area??
Granted, they might have got more foot traffic from the LV Blvd/Charleston location, or the LV Blvd/Fremont location, but I have a feeling they chose the location they did for a good reason--that place is always busy. I'm in there 5-6x a week, and its always busy. Beyond that, its in a nicer neighborhood than most busy 7-11's in the Vegas area, so I figure that made it a solid choice in the Vegas valley.
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You think people are going to inconvenience themselves by going out of their way to vist a convenience store because it looks vaguely like one that's on a TV show that jumped the shark long ago, and pay a premium for rebadged white-label snack food?
Yes. Have you encountered "people" before? Hell, some of them wait in lines overnight to see movies that would probably not be sold out if they just waited 24 hours or went to a less popular theatre.
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Looks like (thanks Google) it's somewhere between College Park and Washington itself. Whatever, 7-11 and Fox!
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Kwik-E Marts are not Walmarts. (Score:3, Insightful)
Krusty products are availabe in stores other than the Kwik-Es.
My fault (Score:2)
You are right. I don't live in the United States and mixed the names up.
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See the similarity?
How to cash in on a satire (Score:2)
I
Re:How to cash in on a satire (Score:5, Funny)
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There are stereotypes everywhere in comedy - if you don't like it, don't watch. It's not like anybody really comes out looking good in the Simpsons. Except maybe Lisa, but nobody makes fun of smart, well adjusted girls.