NEW YORK - Next-generation television network blip.tv and 7-Eleven, Inc., announced the launch of 7-Eleven Road Trip Rally, a Web-based reality series produced by blip.tv. The series will follow two teams as they drive across the country, purchasing all of their daily needs including food and gasoline exclusively at 7-Eleven convenience stores and culminating at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 28.
New episodes of their adventures and challenges will air daily on 711RoadTrip.com, while 7-Eleven and partners, including Dr Pepper, Planter's, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer and Nestlé Pure Life, will promote the show through their own Web sites.
"The show provides a great opportunity to use the enthusiasm around auto racing and reality TV to reach fans and appeal to new customers on the Web," said Rita Bargerhuff, CMO at 7-Eleven, in a press release. "We knew the best way to get our point across would be through video. We??ve had great success with social media, so a web series made perfect sense. Blip.tv truly understands the distributed Web and they??ve been invaluable throughout the development of this program."
Customers and racing fans can follow each team??s progress, daily challenge competitions, and the comedic drama of a cross-country road trip not only on 711roadtrip.com, but also through 7-Eleven??s presence on Facebook and Twitter. Viewers will also be able to keep track of each team as all tweets will be geo-tagged and shared on an interactive map at 711RoadTrip.com.
Blip.tv will distribute the show to partner sites and platforms including iTunes, Yahoo! and AOL Video, TiVo, Sony Bravia, Verizon FiOS and the Roku Digital Video Player. The show??s final challenge will take place at Indy, where drivers Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick from Andretti Autosport will announce the winners.
"7-Eleven is a brand that understands where its customers live and how to connect with them in an impactful way," said Evan Gotlib, blip.tv??s vice president of advertising sales. "We have always been and will continue to remain focused on supporting and promoting quality, original web shows, and 7-Eleven Road Trip Rally is an exciting addition to the blip.tv lineup."