By Dessa Bayrock (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: October 17, 2012
“Get your steaming hot cup of democracy,” the campaign declares.
At first glance it may seem that politics and taquitos have no business together, but as piles of Americans gear up to cast ballots in November, there is one particularly surprising addition to the election crowd: 7-Eleven.
For the fourth American election in a row, the late-night slurpee-expert convenience store has launched its own national polling station: coffee cups.
The concept is simple. 7-Eleven replaced its usual to-go cup pattern with two new designs, one of which bright blue and reads “OBAMA” in clear letters, the other (as you’ve probably guessed) is crimson and reads “ROMNEY.”
This unofficial way of obtaining a customer’s political view is fun in theory, but it sounds far from accurate. The surprising fact is that the “7-Election” has correctly predicted the past three elections in the United States, as well as one in the Philippines. According to this year’s current results, Obama will win the election with 60 per cent of the vote.
At first, I was skeptical. In general, I am absolutely fed up with the way advertising inches further and further into my life every year, and the last thing I need is to see political propaganda on a coffee cup.
But the more I thought about it, the more the idea grew on me. To begin with, 7-Eleven isn’t really advertising so much as performing a social experiment. They aren’t printing campaign ads on the sides of these cups, just names. And by giving customers a choice between Romney and Obama, 7-Eleven isn’t advertising a candidate so much as advertising the idea that citizens should vote for someone.
Maybe less subtly (and more effectively) they’ve transformed the idea of an election into something everyone can understand, something material; they’ve made it into a game. Instead of rolling up the rim to win, customers are battling president-hopefuls against each other like Pokémon. Imagine two people passing on the street, one with a red cup and one with a blue cup, glaring death-beams into each other’s eyes. Now it’s personal; it isn’t one presidential hopeful versus another, but my coffee versus yours.
At the same time, every time someone walks into 7-11 and gets a hot beverage, they are getting a subtle reminder that election day is coming. In an age where fewer eligible voters are casting ballots than ever before, that’s something I am whole-heartedly on board with.
I might be reading a little too far into this, but in my head, 7-Eleven is driving home the fact Americans need to pick someone in the same way they need a coffee every morning. Voting is a basic right, and participating in elections is one of the duties of an American citizen. You wouldn’t dream of skipping morning coffee, so why skip an election?
And at the end of the day, 7-Eleven is just doing its job as a convenience store. Say it’s 3 a.m. and you need a bottle of Advil, some Gatorade and a taquito or two? Pick up some politics on your way. It comes free with a cup of coffee.
