• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 13, 2006

Minimart chain 7-Eleven is launching a new online campaign for its Slurpee drink with a widespread campaign on AOL. The effort, which bears the slogan "Now That's Cold," touts a host of new Slurpee flavors and aims to drive users to a new microsite loaded with games, polls, prizes, and various Slurpee-related "gear."

Users will be pushed to the site through display ads on AOL.com as well as on 4,000 websites in the Advertising.com ad network. Once on the home page, visitors are directed through the site by a virtual host named "Slim," shaped like a Slurpee spoon-straw, who points users to games and contests, as well as special AOL and AIM features.

As part of the campaign, codes on Slurpee cups will allow consumers to gain access to the special features and participate in contests for prizes including DVD and MP3 players as well as mobile games and ringtones. In an interesting twist, consumers can also earn "points" to enter contests by sampling the AOL and AIM programs. 7-Eleven is also a charter sponsor of AOL's new AIM Pages social network.

Meanwhile 7-Eleven is also affiliating Slurpee with two "extreme" sports, surfing and skateboarding, through a series of promotional events at skate parks and retail outlets. Slurpees will be on tap at the U.S. Open of Surfing, which is supposed to draw about 400,000 attendees.