So the first thing I find out this morning is that in 11 towns in the US, the 7-11 is going to be temporarily rebranded 'Kwik-E-Mart' to promote the upcoming Simpsons movie.  Rumour has it that products from the show will also be available - Squishies, Krusty-O cereal, Buzz cola, and so on.  What a shame that Baudrillard died before he could see his theories so magnificently realised!

From a marketing perspective this is clearly a work of genius from the movie backers.  Shelves will be empty and the stock up on e-Bay before dawn each morning and the hype generated will no doubt turn the 11 chosen towns into real destinations.  Look for price hikes at the local motels and B&B's.

So, great news for the Simpsons movie and the towns involved in this promotion, but what of 7-11 itself?  Of course, they will get a huge short-term upturn in sales.  Long term though, this could really do some brand damage.  The Kwik-E-Mart itself - and here's where we slip into hyperreality folks, so hang on - the real one (i.e. the one on the TV show, which of course is not real, but which is being brought into reality through shameless promotional fakery) is a cruel portrayal of the 7-11 format.  The Kwik-E-Mart workers are underpaid, forced to endure long and dangerous hours, serve stale and unclean food as though it were fresh, high quality produce, and so on.  However, the Kwik-E-Mart branded 7-11's will undoubtedly be great fun to shop in (for the few that ever get near them, of course) and I'm sure that the staff will have a great time for once, except perhaps for the poor schmuk who has to spend all day in a huge foam-rubber Homer suit.  But when the branding is taken down and the crowds have moved on to the next freakshow, all that will be left will be a tired old 7-11 with a poorly treated workforce, second rate products and a deep existential emptiness in its soul.

So what would Baudrillard have made of it?

He would no doubt deny the existence of America and would prove with fearless logic that the last 50 years of world history had been played out in the mind of a giant tortoise, who itself was reading from a script prepared by the ghost of Cecil B DeMille acting on instructions from the CIA.

God rest his soul.