Saturday is July 7, 2007, and the opportunity to celebrate a day of triple 7s has become the centerpiece of a spate of marketing campaigns from a "Lucky in Love" contest sponsored by Wal-Mart to a
sweepstakes from Papa John's pizza with "777 ways to win." A "7 Layers of Love" contest sponsored by Taco Bell offers the winner a chance to propose to his sweetheart on a virtual sign to be displayed
Saturday during baseball games on Fox Broadcasting.
The Wal-Mart contest gives seven couples free weddings Saturday at seven Wal-Mart Supercenter stores around the country. It was
conducted online from March 20 to May 6, drawing more than 400 entries. The idea was based on sales data showing that more customers than usual were planning to be married on July 7, says Nick
Agarwal, an executive of Wal-Mart Stores.
The commercialized commemoration of 7/7/07 is an example of a venerable marketing tactic known as borrowed interest, in which the marketers
seek to ride the coattails of big events, trends and pop-culture personalities.
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