Electronic Arts Inc. has kicked off a month-long promotion of Madden NFL 09 and the 20th anniversary of the EA Sports franchise at 7-Eleven stores nationwide.
The promotion runs from Aug. 1 to Aug. 31 and will feature a variety of in-store and out-of-store elements, including collectible Slurpee and Big Gulp cups, Madden Meals and a free, online Madden Fantasy Roster Builder based on Madden NFL 09 player ratings.
Additionally, Madden NFL 09-branded signage will appear in all stores. Customers have been able to pre-order the game at participating 7-Eleven locations and pick it up at midnight on Aug. 12, when it was released.
“EA Sports and the Madden NFL team are excited to team up with 7-Eleven to give our consumers a new and unique experience,” said Chris Erb, director of marketing for EA Sports. “This promotion allows our passionate fans the opportunity to interact with our game like never before, so to us, it’s a big win for all involved.”
EA has partnered with several other big names as part of the August promotion at 7-Eleven.
With Warner Brothers Home Video, EA has made a playable pre-release demo of the game available on a retail DVD. The demo disc is available for free at participating 7-Eleven stores with the purchase of a Madden Meal – a turkey and cheddar sub sandwich, 99-cent bag of Frito-Lay chips and any size Big Gulp fountain drink – while DVD supplies last.
Playable on the Xbox 360, the DVD also includes video highlights of big plays, players and more.
EA, along with Donruss trading cards, released a limited-edition set of Madden NFL 09 cards made available to consumers free with the purchase of a fresh-grilled Cheeseburger Bite, Quarter-Pound Big Bite or any 22-ounce or larger Slurpee beverage.
The trading cards feature the in-game player ratings of select Madden NFL 09 stars.
Pepsi also joined the fray with a Madden NFL 09 sweepstakes in support of the new Pepsi Lemon NFL Kick-off colas, which launched this month. Prizes for the sweepstakes (www.pepsifootballsweeps.com) include a trip to Super Bowl XLIII and tickets to EA’s Madden Bowl XV in Tampa, Fla., as well as the chance to tour the EA Sports Tiburon game studio where Madden NFL football is made.
Gatorade, a division of PepsiCo, created Gridiron Ice, a limited-time-only Slurpee flavor available at 7-Eleven stores nationwide.
Assisting 7-Eleven in developing the partnerships and promotions for the Madden NFL 09 August programs is FreshWorks, 7-Eleven’s advertising and marketing agency.
