7-Eleven Teams Up with The Incredible Hulk

[ENGLISH] 7-Eleven, Inc. has hulked up its stores – from green-colored Slurpee drinks and Super Hero sandwiches to a renamed Incredible Gulp fountain drink and a new edition of The Incredible Hulk comic book, created by Marvel Comics and available exclusively at 7-Eleven stores. Not only is an incredible amount of Hulk merchandise appearing in participating stores across the country, but observant movie-goers just might catch a glimpse of a 7-Eleven storefront in the film.

It’s all part of the buzz-build for the June 13th release of Universal Studios and Marvel Studios’ The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt. The action-thriller is directed by Louis Leterrier.

« The Incredible Hulk is one of Marvel Comics’ all-time favorite Super Heroes, » said Jay Wilkins, 7-Eleven brand manager for Slurpee and fountain drinks. « With our collectible cups and straws, online contests and in-store promotions, 7-Eleven has become a Super Hero store for young fans of the genre. »

7-Eleven has expanded the lineup of The Incredible Hulk-themed items at participating stores this month, well beyond cups and straws, with almost every aisle going a little green.

Radiation Rush Slurpee Drinks – New Slurpee flavors are at the heart of 7-Eleven promotions, and 2008 is stacking up to be the biggest Slurpee summer ever. The featured flavor for June is Radiation Rush, a bright green-colored frozen drink flavored like a tropical fruit smoothie made with strawberries, pineapple, lime and a twist of guarana.

No Slurpee promotion is complete without cool cups, and this one is no different. Three 3-D cups featuring morphing images of The Incredible Hulk characters – the Hulk and his oversized foe, The Abomination – can be coupled with straws featuring removable figurines of the same, which can stand on their own. Since 7-Eleven introduced special straws with magnetic characters as part of The Simpsons Movie last summer, collectible straws have become popular with its younger customers.

A Super Hero Sandwich, Incredible Gulp and Hulk It Up Meal Deal
7-Eleven has created a colossal half-pound turkey and cheese submarine sandwich – the Hulk Hero. Paired with a 32-ounced Incredible Gulp fountain drink – the temporarily renamed Big Gulp(R) – it becomes the Hulk It Up meal deal, value priced at $3.99.

Fresh-Baked Mug
Glaring back from the bakery case are two fresh-baked daily-delivered items – a giant sugar cookie and a green cream-filled donut – sure to be popular with kids and their parents. Both feature the Hulk’s glowering green image. While 7-Eleven has previously offered character cookies and sports-team logos on both cookies and donuts, this is the first donut available nationally with a superimposed image of a popular character.

Special Edition Hulk Comics and Collectibles
In anticipation of the film’s release, Marvel Comics created a special 28-page The Incredible Hulk comic book just for 7-Eleven. The plastic-wrapped special edition features an interview with comic artist genius and Hulk creator Stan Lee, pull-out mini-posters and more. This one-of-a-kind The Incredible Hulk comic book retails for $4.99. Other collectibles sure to appeal to fans include bobble-heads, toys, temporary tattoos, stickers and wristbands.

Saving a Little Green on the Game
7-Eleven has partnered with GameStop in a two-way deal that will save customers money, both coming and going. When customers purchase a Radiation Rush frozen drink at the Slurpee machine or an Incredible Gulp, they can pick up coupons redeemable at participating GameStop stores for a $5 discount off Sega’s new The Incredible Hulk videogame, also due out this month. Even better, when that $5 coupon is redeemed at GameStop, the customer will receive an offer for a $5 7-Eleven gift card to return and buy even more The Incredible Hulk merchandise, drinks or eats.

A Hulking Presence
Lurking around the Slurpee and Incredible Gulp machines is a 6-foot likeness of the giant. These standee store displays have become popular in their own right, and 7-Eleven has donated previous mega-characters to children’s hospitals and fund-raising auctions.

Snack Attack
7-Eleven also carries this month Pringles chips with The Incredible Hulk’s likeness and special editions of AirHeads candy and six-packs of Coca-Cola.

« Super Hero merchandise is highly collectible, and customers, especially young fans, love the fun and novelty of the movie merchandise created for 7-Eleven, » Wilkins said. « The Slurpee cups, spoon-straw figures and comic book offer affordable keepsakes of their favorite movies and characters. »

This isn’t 7-Eleven’s first go-round with Marvel Comics and its stable of iconic Super Hero movie stars. Other characters that have appeared on Slurpee cups and in-store promotions include, most recently, the title character from the recently released mega-hit Iron Man. Additionally, Spider-Man, X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer have been featured. Marvel Super Hero movies have generated more than $4 billion in box-office revenue.

This is the convenience store chain’s second go-round with the green giant. 7-Eleven partnered with Marvel and Universal on the Hulk movie in 2003. Merchandise sales for Hulk totaled almost $1 billion.

This summer’s The Incredible Hulk, the much-anticipated action-thriller that tells the tale of scientist Bruce Banner and his hulking alter-ego, promises an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular Super Heroes of all time.

About THE INCREDIBLE HULK
In the The Incredible Hulk, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk. Living in the shadows – cut off from a life he knew and the woman he loves, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) – Banner struggles to avoid the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), and the military machinery that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power. As all three grapple with the secrets that led to The Hulk’s creation, they are confronted with a monstrous new adversary known as The Abomination, whose destructive strength exceeds even The Hulk’s own. And on June 13, 2008, one scientist must make an agonizing final choice: accept a peaceful life as Bruce Banner or find heroism in the creature he holds inside – The Incredible Hulk.