Life imitating television

Recently, 7-11 converted some of their stores to "Kwik-E-Marts" - the fictional store in the television series The Simpsons. Twelve of the 7-11 stores in the country underwent this transformation as part of a promotion for "The Simpsons Movie." Below is a pic of the one in Mountain View, California.



I saw a line of people queued up outside the store waiting to get in. Once you got in, you could buy cookies in the form of Homer Simpson and "Squishees" and pink donuts, among other things that until now part of the virtual world. We've seen product placement in movies, e.g., the BMW automobile in the James Bond movies. The 7-11 idea seems to be a neat twist on the idea - life imitating television. Reverse product placement?