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Mar The Best Cheesesteak in Philadelphia. Subscribe to our blog! When his soda fountain went out, he improvised by putting some bottles in the freezer to stay cool. However, when he popped the top, they were a little frozen and slushy. Folks loved them and started requesting "those pops that were in a little bit longer. Realizing he had a surprise hit on his hands, Knedlik built a machine in the back room using the air conditioning unit from a car that would create slushy soda by combining and freezing a flavor mix, water, and carbon dioxide to make it fizz.
But things really took off when, in , 7-Eleven licensed the machine, but called the drink by a different name to make it unique for their stores. The name Slurpee was coined by Bob Stanford, a 7-Eleven ad agency director, when he described the sound made while sipping it through a straw.
Mental Floss: 10 secret menu items at fast food restaurants. Thanks to inventive advertising aimed at the growing youth market, Slurpees were an instant hit with the Woodstock generation.
One campaign featured a full-length song, "Dance the Slurp," written by one of the founding fathers of radio jingles, Tom Merriman. It was released on free, promotional 45 rpm records available in 7-Eleven stores. The catchy little tune was a huge hit at the time and its influence even extended into the lates, when turntablists Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow used the song as the inspiration for their album, Brainfreeze. In the s, 7-Eleven started selling special cups with images of sports stars, comic book characters, early video games, and even rock bands.
The cups kept kids coming back to complete the entire collection. Later, limited edition Slurpee flavors started accompanying the cups to create a complete marketing package. This is a tradition has continued today through promotional tie-ins with video games, professional wrestling, and extreme sports. In recent years, Slurpees have come in annual summer movie cups and flavors. Dating back to , when the tie-in for "Men In Black II" was a blackberry drink, the promo cups and flavors have grown more and more elaborate and popular.
The biggest hit so far has been the "Iron Man" franchise, with special collector's cups that feature 3-D character designs and a special helmet dome lid. They've been sold on eBay for three times what they originally sold for in the store. However, for "The Simpson's" Movie in , they went beyond just redesigned cups and wacky flavors.
Those who love the store, purists, insist that their beloved C-store could never have NOT came up with the drink all on its own. In those days, the person behind the counter had to dispense one for you. Only some of my readers will remember, but this used to be true at 7-Eleven.
Yes, buying a Slurpee was like pumping gas in New Jersey. No, they are NOT the same thing with a different name! They are the ones with the big clear swirl canisters.
The Circle K corporation, which I mentioned above, owns the second largest chain of convenience stores next to 7-Eleven. Their drink, to which their customers are just as dedicated, is the Froster. To be more correct, you would not be able to enjoy them in every Mexican restaurant with consistent quality without the Slurpee. But imagine turning out scores of perfect frozen Margaritas to hundreds of customers a night in a packed Mexican eatery.
Mariano Martinez, a Dallas Mexican restaurant owner, reportedly invented the frozen Margarita in , or thereabouts. Then one day he saw a 7-Eleven Slurpee machine and bingo, he had his solution.
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