Bringing 7-Eleven’s Slurpees to Life with “Pizzazz and Style”

To promote its iconic iced beverage, the ‘Slurpee’, American convenience store chain 7-Eleven teamed up with production company Eleanor and its director Adrian De Sa Garces to show the public that with a refreshing Slurpee in your hand, ‘Anything Flows’.

The campaign includes four films that showcase the various flavours of Slurpees available, with each one presenting a character and attitude that fits the different tongue-tingling tastes. The key 30-second film, for instance, revolves around the Cherry Red flavour and stars a group of gangster grannies in red tracksuits as they swagger through a casino resort in serious style.

Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway about the project, director Adrian De Sa Garces takes us on a tour through the vibrant inspirations and wonderfully unexpected discoveries behind the scenes.

LBB> How did this project for 7-Eleven come about? Why did the brief grab you and suit your personal tastes as a director? 

Adrian> It was a no-brainer for me. Iconic brand, cool insights that came from the agency, and the chance to play around with characters. It was all about having fun and keeping it real. Nothing too complicated, just a chance to show some attitude and make something people might enjoy. 

LBB> What were some immediate visuals and ideas that came to mind when you first read the brief? 

Adrian> When I first read the brief, characters like Larry David from 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and The Dude from ‘The Big Lebowski’ came to mind right away. You know, characters who are just unapologetically themselves - not bothered by what anyone else thinks. That's the vibe I wanted to capture, and those initial ideas helped shape the whole project. 

LBB> Cherries are obviously a very important theme for the key film - how did you incorporate cherries and the Slurpee into the spot? 

Adrian> Cherries and the flavour theme were central to this campaign. For Cherry Red, we used the cherry ladies in red tracksuits to embody that bold flavour. And with Pina Colada, it was about that mellow yellow vibe. We created a whole colour profile for each character,  connecting the wardrobe and setting to the flavour. Everything in the visual story was coded to tie into the Slurpee's flavour. It was a fun way to make the connection seamless and to bring the flavours to life. 

LBB> The casting for this spot seems vital - where did you find your hip grannies?  How were they to work with on set? 

Adrian> We went through the usual casting channels, but really looked for ladies who had some sass. They needed to own those red tracksuits and embody that Cherry Red flavour. On the day, they also brought this energy and playfulness that made the whole thing come alive. You could tell they were having fun, and it just made the whole process that much more enjoyable. 

LBB> The ladies certainly have some swagger and style - how did you design their fantastic outfits?

Adrian> We just made sure the wardrobe stylists had a nice big variety, and once we'd cast our ladies, we had some fun on the day putting together the outfits. Each character was sort of born in the moment. We had some fun dressing them, and it was an informal process. They each brought their own sort of pizzazz and style to wearing the outfits. They took something that was probably relatively ordinary and pushed it over the top. Little accessories like caps, glasses, and jewellery elevated the whole look.

LBB> What is your favourite shot from the spots? Talk us through how you brought it to life!

 

Adrian> If I had to pick some favourite shots, it would be moments like in the ‘Colada’ spot  where our actor casually strolls out of the lift and pops the umbrella in the man's pocket, or when he walks off barefoot. 

In the ‘Mixed-Up’ spot, after the girl does her little jig at the old lady, she takes this bold, big, crazy step off the pavement. That was something unusual and surprising. It wasn't something we necessarily planned, but the actress just spontaneously invented it on the day, and I always liked that. Those unexpected moments really made the project for me. 

LBB> In the Cherry Red spot, there’s a shot of a slot machine scoring a line of three cherries… luck, or some movie magic? 

Adrian> At first, we thought we might have to create that in post-production, but the person who supplied the machine cleverly set it up so that it would strike three cherries. It was one of those behind-the-scenes bits of movie-making magic. Sometimes, things just fall into place effortlessly in the coolest ways, and that was definitely one of those moments. 

LBB> What's the biggest challenge you faced on this project, and how did you overcome it?

 

Adrian> Probably the biggest challenge was the inclusion of the product from shot to shot. We chose to do something in-camera, and it was sort of labour-intensive, so that slowed us down a bit. We had a lot to shoot in the time we had, and I think that could've been handled a little bit better. But we managed with a good team.