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New low

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Ever since Star Wars, and maybe Planet of the Apes (the original one with Heston, baby) movie merchandising has become a part of the American summer blockbuster culture. Big Hits like Tim Burton's Batman and flops like The Hulk all had deals with fast food restaurants, branding their image on innumerable cups and happy meal toys. And of course, there is the beach towels, the t-shirts, the posters, the underwear, the bubble gum, and the toys (just to list a few things crossover merchandising has given us).

The Simpsons are not new to this game. The show, much like Krusty the Klown, is willing to put its name on anything from "duff beer mints" to Mr. Burns' underwear for women. The people who own the merchandise license do not care what they put the Simpsons brand on as long as it will make them some money. However, this new marketing stunt with 7-11 is beyond low. It takes crass commercialism to a new level, and is getting as much media attention as one recently freed hotel heiress. It acts as a distraction and does not really offer anything more than a regular 7-11.

No, you say, you can get Buzz cola at the 7-11 turned Kwik-E-Mart. You can't get Buzz at a regular 7-11. This is true, and it would be nice to get my hands on a can of Buzz cola for collecting purposes. But that is the problem. In an ingenious marketing move (because it really is brilliant what 7-11 and the Fox corporation have done) the perpetrators of this crossover have created an instant collector's market. They have limited the number of participating 7-11s (which I see as a form of discrimination, why didn't they make all 7-11s Kwik-E-Marts, or at least the one near me?) thus ensuring that Springfield products will be scarce. This scarcity will result in much ebaying, and money spent on useless junk that was part of a cultural phenomenon.

But really, isn't it just like the Macerena? Well, maybe it's not nearly as annoying as the Macerena, but it is just a fad. A flash in the pan moment of America 2007 that will soon be forget by most people by the time the horror movies hit in October. What then, the SAW hardware store?

*these are not necessarily the views of the author. Sometimes his hippie-commie-cat gets it paws on the keyboard*

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