7-Eleven Inc.’s promotions in connection with the summer 2007 release of “The Simpsons Movie” won the c-store chain two of three Gold Lion awards presented to U.S. companies at the 55th Annual Cannes International Advertising Festival.
It was the first international honor the company earned for its July 2007 campaign where 12 of its North American c-stores were transformed into Kwik-E-Marts, the convenience store made famous in The Simpsons TV series and appearing in the movie. 7-Eleven ad agency FreshWorks designed the concept.
An 18-member jury led by Armin Jochum, chief creative officer of BBDO in Stuttgart, Germany, reviewed 1,103 entries from 54 countries in the category that 7-Eleven ultimately won.
7-Eleven and its advertising, marketing and public relations agencies also received top honors from the Public Relations Society of America this month, winning a Silver Anvil award. They also won in the Effies competition (marketing communications/ideas that work) for a top retail-integrated marketing campaign.
Other awards for the reverse product promotion that helped boost “The Simpsons Movie” beyond 20th Century Fox studio’s earning projections:
Dallas, Texas-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses roughly 7,600 c-stores in North America. Globally the company operates, franchises or licenses more than 34,300 stores in 14 countries. In 2007, the company’s worldwide stores generated total sales of more than $46.6 billion.
Among the company’s many awards this year, it was named the No. 1 Franchise Opportunity for 2008 by Entrepreneur magazine, and it is currently franchising virtually all of its stores in the U.S.