7-Eleven Unveils New Ad Campaign

7-Eleven® marketing executives believe the new ad campaign by creative agency GSD&M of Austin will have consumers rolling in the aisles ... or at least, rolling into the 7-Eleven aisles to shop. The provocative campaign of irreverent television and radio spots features a series of humorous character-driven vignettes with a 7-Eleven customer as the hero.

"We're emphasizing the 'crave' factor in these new spots," said 7-Eleven marketing vice president Bob Merz. "7-Eleven has products that customers crave at different times of the day. The situations the characters find themselves in are funny and innovative, but they're also very real life."

Tapped in February, GSD&M had presented creative concepts as part of the agency review process that, according to Merz, were used as a jumping off point for the new campaign. "We wanted creative spots to break through and make a considerable impact on our line of 'Big' products."

Fifteen- and 30-second television spots along with 30- and 60-second radio ads promote signature 7-Eleven products like Big Bite® hot dog, Big Gulp® fountain drink and Slurpee® beverage, as well as introduce new proprietary fresh food items.

The summer advertising campaign is the most extensive in 7-Eleven history, in part because the c-store leader is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year on July 11. "7-Eleven is going to be on the air in a dominant way," Merz said. "This is the company's largest advertising presence ever. American consumers will definitely know 7-Eleven this summer and recognize there are plenty of reasons to stop in."

While a variety of situations, characters and products are featured in the television and radio spots, constants in the campaign remain the "Oh Thank Heaven" tagline framed by a new audio "Slurp ... aaah" mnemonic device.

"We wanted spots that hit consumers hard and fast and leave them talking," Merz said. "GSD&M has a knack for creating advertising that generates good street buzz, and we want that buzz to be about 7-Eleven."

Clearly, the GSD&M creative team wanted the same thing. "7-Eleven satisfies your urges; sometimes you've just got to have a Big Gulp or a Slurpee or a hot dog. We're conveying that with ads that are clever and surprising, and relevant to our audience," said GSD&M President Roy Spence. "7-Eleven's core customer base is young, on-the-go, adventurous and predominantly male. They'll appreciate the humor, but more important, they'll know we understand them."

7-Eleven has a reputation of its own for creating advertising history. The first convenience retailer was also the first in the industry to advertise on television way back in 1949. Its quirky '60s-era radio campaign to introduce the Slurpee drink proved so popular with on-air deejays that many played the spots for free. And a generation later when the company coined "brain freeze" to describe the painful sensation caused by Slurpee-guzzling, a series of 7-Eleven television spots helped make the term part of everyday American language. Often cited among the advertising industry as one of the most memorable slogans, "Oh Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven" has spawned years of featuring everything from gospel choirs singing to sexy angels magically appearing and disappearing.

"We wanted a campaign with a twist to communicate how our products differentiate us from other stores," Merz said. "We have major brands that are unique to 7-Eleven. Slurpee is 7-Eleven. Big Gulp is 7-Eleven. Big Bite is 7-Eleven. This campaign is about reminding consumers of that and telling them about new products that are now part of 7-Eleven."

Beginning this month, selected spots will air on national network television while others will run on spot market television, with radio support in selected markets or stand-alone radio spots promoting additional products to those featured in the television campaign.

7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry and is observing its 75th anniversary in 2002. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven, Inc. operates or Franchises approximately 5,800 7-Eleven® stores in the United States and Canada and licenses approximately 17,000 7-Eleven stores in 17 other countries and territories throughout the world. During 2001, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $31 billion.