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The return of Kool-Aid's pitch(er) man
The Kool-Aid Man is back! The disgusting CGI of the '90s is finally gone and Kool-Aid Man is once again a dude in an oversized suit. And though he's no longer bursting through walls, he's still plenty potent. In several new spots ("Kitten" is shown above, "Beach" is below), Kool-Aid Man takes on Soda Man and beats him handily in various competitions. Kool-Aid Man's fancy cargo pants and tweaked slogan, "Delivering more smiles per gallon," might make you think they've dropped his famous "Oh yeah!" catchphrase for good, but I've heard an amusing radio ad where he says nothing more than "Oh yeah!" while a housewife asks him leading questions. Also, it's all over his Kool-Space Web page. Now that Kraft Foods is advertising Kool-Aid year-round instead of just during the summer to steal sales from cash-strapped consumers cutting back on soft drinks, I'd rather watch my main man on heavy rotation than some rival un-anthropomorphic pitcher. Bravo to longtime agency Ogilvy & Mather for bringing back the big guy in red. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
Comments
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Nice to see a childhood memory holding it together so well :)
Posted by: Chilligan | Jul 11, 2009 7:47:48 AM
What a missed opportunity for Kraft and Ogilvy. Everyone from Family Guy to Robot Chicken has offered cameo appearances from the Kool-aid pitcher. It's an absurd icon that is truly loved for it's ridiculous antics. This campaign remakes the Kool-aid as a weaker less interesting version of it's 70's self.
Does anyone really think these ads are going to capture the interest of kids? Is rescuing kittens really going to convince moms of anything?
This is such a stupid and wasteful use of a beloved icon.
Posted by: advendetta | Jul 12, 2009 10:54:51 AM
All mascots do not have to be the subservient chicken or the Burger King to be interesting. Robot Chicken showed the world what a Kool-aid man aimed at the 18-35 yr-old male market might look like. These are about the Kool-aid man for the average housewife who doesn't want to be creeped-out or offended.
Posted by: Richard Tseng | Jul 13, 2009 3:03:15 PM
advendetta...i don't think these are aimed at kinds anymore, but parents who grew up with this icon and will get all warm and fuzzy about seeing him. then buy their kids a drink mix that requires you to dump a cup (or two?) of sugar into the pitcher. btw, i do miss the busting through walls business. fun times.
Posted by: doozie | Jul 13, 2009 5:48:40 PM
if the koolaid man isn't busting through walls, i ain't interested.
i remember saving up all those g.d. koolaid points -- i wanted the plastic koolaid man pitcher so bad. but then every time i got close, my mom would clean out the junk drawer and throw them all away. grrr...
dane cook has a pretty funny bit about the koolaid man. they should just make that into a spot and be done with it.
Posted by: jenny | Jul 14, 2009 6:54:59 PM
The pop guy is looking kinda bow-legged, is it really that special to out-race a cripple? It's not really advertising "We're awesome" so much as "Our competition sucks!"
Posted by: Dave | Jul 17, 2009 12:36:57 PM
