Participating stores
Chicago, Illinois

FREE SLURPEE® DRINKS = MUSIC TO THEIR EARS

7-Eleven® Celebrates 82nd Birthday with Biggest Slurpee Bash Ever: 5 Million Free Frozen Drinks and Concert Ticket Sweepstakes.

If it's July 11 or 7/11, then Slurpee® drinks must be on the house at 7-Eleven® stores. That's because this Saturday is 7-Eleven Day, and the day the world's first convenience retailer celebrates its birthday. This year promises to be the biggest ever, with 7-Eleven planning to give away close to 5 million free 7.11-ounce Slurpee drinks to celebrate its 82nd birthday.

The retailer has added something new to its annual tradition of giving away cups of its iconic frozen drink - music. As an extra birthday bonus, this year's colorful "Happy Birthday!" cups feature a code on the side that can be redeemed online at http://www.slurpee.com for a chance to win or buy reduced-price Live Nation concert tickets.

Cup codes can be entered at http://www.slurpee.com or texted to 33992 on 7-Eleven Day between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. (CDT) for a chance to win one of 711 $50 Live Nation Concert Cash prizes, redeemable for concert tickets sold at http://www.livenation.com. Everyone entering a birthday cup code at the Slurpee website is eligible to purchase $7.11 lawn tickets for concerts at select Live Nation venues across the country.

The codes are valid for the discounted ticket prices through Sunday, July 12, at 10 p.m. (CDT). The $7.11 tickets are good toward select general admission lawn seats at Live Nation®- owned and operated venues while supplies last. Live Nation is a registered trademark of Live Nation Worldwide, Inc.

"Music seemed a natural extension to the big Slurpee birthday party we throw every year on 7-Eleven day," said Jay Wilkins, brand manager for Slurpee and other 7-Eleven proprietary cold beverages. "Every party is better with music, and we worked with Live Nation Concerts to come up with a way to make our celebration even bigger and better. Together, we are able to give a lot of people a chance to see their favorite band in concert at ticket prices they can afford."

Participating 7-Eleven stores across America and Canada will serve up some 5 million free

7.11-ounce Slurpee frozen carbonated beverages on Saturday (as long as cups last) - the most ever. "Slurpee-brations" and 7-Eleven birthday parties are being held around the country with music, entertainment, prizes and food sampling.

Every year, July 11 marks the day that the world's No. 1 convenience retailer observes its birthday and other company milestones. 7-Eleven, the first convenience store, originated in 1927 when a Southland Ice Company employee began selling bread, milk and eggs on an ice dock in a Dallas suburb. Since that inauspicious start, "convenience" has become a big business. The small ice company has grown into a major, international retailing chain with 7,800 7-Eleven stores in the North America and more than 36,200 stores worldwide that generated $53.7 billion in revenues last year.

"7-Eleven Day may become better known as free Slurpee day, because of how popular the beverage giveaway has become," Wilkins said. "We've been serving free Slurpee drinks on July 11 since our 75th birthday in 2002, and it continues to be a hit with customers. Customers have been asking about it for weeks. Even without the 5 million free Slurpee drinks, July is the biggest month of the year in terms of Slurpee sales [need verification]. What better drink for the hottest month of the year."

Added by prchicago on July 7, 2009