July 2, 2007
Kwik-E-Mart is Here. Thank You, Come Again!
You might remember hearing the news, back in March, that the folks marketing The Simpsons Movie would be remaking some 7-11s across the country in the image of Apu Nahasapeemapetilan's beloved Kwik-E-Mart. As Simpsons devotees, we were pretty excited.
Well, the D.C. area is among the lucky metropolises selected — but, to our dismay, the Associated Press (via NBC4) tells us that the lucky 7-11 is in Bladensburg, Md. Of course Bladensburg isn't all that far from the city. Still, surely the nation's capital deserves something a bit more Metro-accessible. We were prepared to write the whole thing off — and to do so in song:
Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart?
Now here's the tricky part
Oh won't you rhyme with me?
Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart?
It's already on Flickr-E-Mart
They're in the sticks-E-Mart
It's a marketing trick-E-Mart
The Kwik-E-Mart is really — d'oh!
Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart?
Not me!
But then we started to see the photographic evidence. There's this Flickr set of the Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank, Ca. Between the Frostillicus decal, the Krusty-Os and the relatively obscure donut-topping reference, it's clear that this is both a crass marketing exercise and a labor of love.
Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart? We doooooooo... More photos after the jump.
Photos by Sommer Mathis
|
More from Bladensburg here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnymetro/sets/72157600593198763/
Oooo, Bwadensburg! How scawwwie!!! I might have to take a wittle bussy-bus fwom my comfy Tenwietown pad over to tewwwible Mawwiland!!!
Yeesh. Man up, Nancy.
Oh, if only they could sell Duff beer!
They should have picked the 7-11 further north on Kennilworth Ave, accross from the Alamo Plaza shopping center. It would be the only combination Kwik-E-Mart/immigrant day labor center in the country!
They sell Krusty-O's at any 7-11, not just the Kwik-E-Mart. I went to the Blandensburg location yesterday. It was amazing how many other "dorks" were there with digital cameras.
Tom-
Take RED LINE RED LINE Rail to RHODE ISLAND METRO STATION to 84 BUS towards NEW CARROLLTON to EDMONSTON RD & UPSHUR ST. walk .1 miles to 4199 Kenilworth Ave, Time 30min
Or ask Sommer, some how she found it, or find a car.
The fact that Matt Groening et al got the Southland Corporation to pay a large sum of money for the priveledge of being the subject of mockery gives me hope for this great nation.
Now, we just need to find a Constitutional way to rescind presidential pardons.
From the Maryland Kwik-E-Mart
http://flickr.com/photos/easement/sets/72157600612368283/
They should have done this (and made the movie) 8-10 years ago, back when The Simpsons was still funny and worth watching.
So are they going to do this in Springfield, VA?
It's pretty stupid that they're not doing Duff beer. Lots of fratclone morons would buy a hundred cases of the stuff no matter how much it sucked. It'd probably be more profitable, alone, than this entire campaign as is.
As a proud owner of Duff Beer t-shirt, I resemble that remark.
Geez ...Fenty must be doing the hiring at the 7-11 in MD too! :)
I hope they have a frozen Grandpa Simpson in the freezer!
"I hope they have a frozen Grandpa Simpson in the freezer!"
You mean Jasper aka Frostillicus.
Unfortunately he was sold to a rich Texan....YEEEHAW!
Not Grandpa Simpson! Jasper!
The bladensburg store was chosen because it is one of the highest selling stores on the east coast.
Sides could you imagine them cramming all that simpsons schwag into one of the districts ridicalolusly small 7-11's?
Nice gallery - I'm still hoping to make it out to the Bladensburg store soon. I included this post as part of my roundup on Simpsons Movie marketing on the Influential Marketing Blog.
@ Monkeyrotica: It's called impeachment! And it's totally constitutional!
And Southland Corporation no longer exists. Southland was in bankruptcy and were bought by their Japanese franchisee as 7th and I Holdings Corp., a subsidiary of the Ito-Yokado grocery store chain.