In several stump speeches leading up to the Nov. 2 election, President Obama jokingly portrayed Republicans as obstructionists who would rather sip Slurpees than help the nation move forward, and it didn’t take long for convenience store chain 7-Eleven, which sells the sweet, icy Slurpee drink, to seize the opportunity. On Nov. 8, a special Slurpee truck stopped at Union Station in Springfield on a Slurpee Unity Tour, serving free Slurpees to anyone who happened by. The featured flavor of the tour is a grape-flavored concoction called “Purple to the People,” inspired by the mixing of traditional Republican and Democrat colors.
“When you blend red and blue together, you get awesome purple,” says Margaret Chabris, spokesperson for 7-Eleven. “When you bring different people together, different factions in unity, good things happen.”
Chabris wasn’t sure just how many Slurpees were served here. The truck stopped in Chicago on Nov. 9, then Detroit and Indianapolis on its way to Washington, D.C. for what 7-Eleven is calling a “Slurpee Summit” meant to push for national unity. There’s no word yet on whether Obama or Republican Speaker-to-be Rep. John Boehner of Ohio will take 7-Eleven up on its offer to install Slurpee machines in the White House and the Capitol. Check out the Slurpee Unity Tour at facebook.com/slurpee.
This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2010.
