Kool-Aid Man

Kool-Aid Man is the mascot for Kool-Aid, a brand of flavored drink mix. The character has appeared on television and print advertising as a fun-loving, gigantic pitcher, filled with cherry Kool-Aid and marked with a smiley face. He is typically featured answering the call of children by smashing through walls and furnishings, holding a pitcher filled with Kool-Aid while yelling his catch-phrase "Oh, yeah!".

History

The precursor to Kool-Aid Man, the Pitcher Man, was created on July 10, 1954 by Marvin Potts, an art director for a New York advertising agency hired by General Foods to create an image that would accompany the slogan "A 5-cent package makes two quarts." Inspired by watching his young son draw smiley faces on a frosted window, Potts created the Pitcher Man, a glass pitcher with a wide smile emblazoned on its side and filled with Kool-Aid. It was one of several designs Potts created but the only one that stuck, and General Foods began to use the Pitcher Man in all of its advertisements.^[2][3]

Kool-Aid Man making his trademark entrance in a 1978 Kool-Aid commercial.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Kool-Aid Man was introduced as a walking/talking 6-foot-tall pitcher of cherry Kool-Aid, reportedly voiced by Grey Advertising composer, Richard Berg.^[4][5] Children, parched from playing, or other various activities, would typically exchange a few words referring to their thirst, then put a hand to the side of their mouths and call forth their "friend" by shouting "Hey, Kool-Aid!", whereupon, the Kool-Aid Man would make his grand entrance, breaking through walls, fences, ceilings or other furnishings, uttering the famous words "Oh yeah!", then pour the dehydrated youngsters a glass of Kool-Aid from his own supply.^[6][7][8] Beginning in 1979, in what was seen as a major advance in children's advertising, the character's mouth was animated to "move" in synchronization with the voice actor's singing and/or dialogue.^[9][10][11]

By the 1980s, the Kool-Aid Man had attained pop culture icon status. In 1983, he was the subject of two Kool-Aid Man video games for the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision systems. He was also given his own short-lived comic book series, The Adventures of Kool-Aid Man. This ran for three issues under Marvel Comics from 1984-'85 and continued with issues #4-7 under Archie Comics, with art by Dan DeCarlo, from 1988-'89.^[12]

In 1994, the live-action character was retired. From that point until 2008, the character became entirely computer-generated; however, other characters, such as the children, remained live-action. In the 2000s, singer and voice-over artist, Frank Simms began voicing the character.^[13][14][15] In 2009, the live-action character was reintroduced, playing street basketball and battling "Cola" to stay balanced on a log, were he was voice by Pat Duke.

From at least 1979 to 1981, the character was known in Canada as Captain Kool-Aid.^[16][17][18]

In popular culture

American artist David Hammons used Kool-Aid and incorporated a stamp of the Kool-Aid Man for a piece that hung in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.^[19] The Kool-Aid Man has made several appearances on the television series The Simpsons and Family Guy, including as a playable character in Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff.^[20]

In May 2016, the Kool-Aid Man appeared in a television commercial for American insurer Progressive Corporation voiced by voice actor Brock Powell.^[21]

Reception

Time magazine included the Kool-Aid Man on a list of the "Top 10 Creepiest Product Mascots", saying, "Our biggest gripe with Kool-Aid Man: Why did he have to cause such a mess every time he entered the scene?"^[22]

References

External links

• http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0861/
• Jamie Knobler, "Kool-Aid: 75 years of smiles", The Loquitur, September 9, 2002
• Kool-Aid Man at MobyGames