During a hot day in July we had a longing for a Squishee so we headed to the nearest Kwik-E-Mark to
pick one up. While there we met some of the regulars: Homer, Marge, Bart, Jasper, Ralph Wiggum and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. What we experienced was a very clever marketing stunt pulled off by
7-11 for the upcoming Simpsons movie. The store in Seattle was one of a dozen 7-11s in the
nation that were changed into Kwik-E-Marts. The outside walls were repainted, the sign was replaced,
the employees wore Kwik-E-Mart shirts and the store was populated with plastic cutout Simpsons
characters. The stores also carried "real" Simpsons merchandise including Krusy-Os cereal,
Buzz cola and Squishees. We could only find Buzz cola and Squishees in the Seattle store. Though
the cola was a real product the Squishees were just a sign on the Slurpee machine. Where's my
chutney Squishee? They also tried to pass off cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles as
the traditional Homer donut. What gives? Though the in-store products were cheesy we still
think 7-11 pulled off a bit of brilliant marketing. Even better, they picked the store
closest to the monorail.
