With the long days of summer upon us, and this killer heatwave blasting across the country, there’s no better time than to cool off with a nice cold glass of Kool-Aid. Better call the Kool-Aid Man. Oh yeah!
The beloved Kool-Aid mascot has been around since the 1950s. Referred to back then as the “Pitcher Man.” But it wasn’t until the 1970’s, when Grey Advertising added arms and legs to the talking pitcher and renamed him the “Kool-Aid Man.”
The highly-energetic pitcher filled with Cherry Kool-Aid, barreling through walls, was the very pitcher mascot my generation grew up to know and love. For decades now TV shows, other advertising campaigns, and even comedians have incorporated the iconic talking pitcher into their creations.
Although he’s always excited to help out a group of kids just kickin’ it in the summertime, the way he enters a room is pretty jarring. Family Guy often brought the lovable juice pitcher into a scene throughout the series (even the very first episode). The most clever instance was when they flipped the scenario.
SNL performed a Kool-Aid commercial parody a few years back. They were actually doing a parody of Gillette’s toxic masculinity ad (how do you make that funny?). In a clever way they incorporated the Kool-Aid Man to convey the message of that particular ad: being held accountable for “toxic” actions. Not too bad.
These days the Kool-Aid man continues to grace the world with his presence. His social media account alone is fun and shows he’s got a witty sense of humor. It might just be worth checking out his very own social media account, found here.
The Kool-Aid Man still is going strong but the times, they are a changing. Now, I’m certainly not opposed to pulling back on the extra sugary “juice” beverage as a whole. But I do hope whatever happens, the nostalgia continues on for decades to come.
“Oh yeah!”