Campaign season is always tough here in the Philippines. As election draws near, supporters do everything they can to help increase visibility of their preferred presidentiable through the use of tarpaulins, shirts, and even merch. To further add fuel to the fire of competitiveness, stores like 7-Eleven are holding mock polls through in-store purchases. Even though they’re not the only one doing this, their unofficial survey called 7-Election remain to be one of the most-talked about since 2010… and they’re back for another round this year!

Starting March 9 to April 27, 7-Eleven will hold their 7-Election 2022 — an UNNOFICIAL and UNSCIENTIFIC yet fun (as long as you’re not quick-tempered) and creative mock poll. Now on its third run, 7-Election gives everyone, regardless of voting age, the freedom and opportunity to cast as many votes as they want by choosing the cup of their presidential bet, so best not to take it seriously. The convenience store openly calls it “unofficial and unscientific” due to different reasons — availability of preferred up, people choosing random candidates just for the sake of buying, non-registered voters casting their “votes”, individuals purchasing multiple cups just to increase their candidate’s tally, etc.

7-Eleven encourages customers to keep their cool and stay woke while participating in political conversations, but at the same time, they’re also pushing to keep it light by reminding customers “walang basagan ng drink”. As of this writing, there are six designs available: One for Ping Lacson, Bongbong Marcos, Isko Moreno, Manny Pacquiao, and Leni Robredo, and one undecided cup for those who have yet to make a decision. Unfortunately, Ka Leody de Guzman, Norberto Gonzales, and Ernesto Abella are not represented in this poll.

Fun fact: Call it magic or pure coincidence but the 7-Election results in 2010 and 2016 managed to correctly predict the winners. Let’s see if they can keep up this streak!

The 2022 edition is also made better with City Cafe joining the campaign together with GULP. Customers can participate by availing a 22oz GULP or 12oz City Cafe drink with a unique barcode from over 3,000 7-Eleven stores nationwide, starting at Php 35 for Gulp and Php 39 for City Café. One scanned cup equates to one vote. Votes are tallied daily and are reflected on the 7-Eleven microsite, www.7-election.com.ph, every Friday.

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It’s only during 7-Election that registered and unregistered, of-age and underage customers alike can vote for their presidential bet more than once, and even change their mind midway, so it’s really just for fun. I personally don’t mind getting one (or more) myself so I can continue to show who I’m voting for every break time.

7-Election aims to promote voter awareness, encourage responsible voting, and ultimately, give the public a chance to be heard while engaging in healthy conversations with fellow Filipinos. It’s a nice conversation starter when people ask you why you chose your candidate’s cup. I just hope that news outlets won’t make it seem that the results are taken from a factual survey to push a certain agenda (because some of them do, but I won’t spill the tea).

Enjoy and dare to #SpeakCUP!

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P.S. No need to lose our temper over an unofficial survey. At the end of the day, it’s the participating brands and stores that are winning. 😉