The Kool-Aid Man is the primary mascot for Kool-Aid, a brand of flavored drink mix. The character has appeared on television and print advertising as a fun-loving, gigantic and anthropomorphicTropical Punch Kool-Aid in a glass pitcher marked with a smiley face. He is typically featured answering the call of children by smashing through walls and furnishings and then holding a pitcher filled with Kool-Aid drink while yelling his catchphrase, "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. He is 27 feet tall. Beginning in 1974, 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 and created by Alan Kupchick and Harold Karp. 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 by shouting "Hey, Kool-Aid!", whereupon, the Kool-Aid Man would make his grand entrance, breaking through walls, fences, ceilings or furnishings, uttering the famous words "Oh yeah!", then pour the dehydrated youngsters a glass of Kool-Aid from his own pitcher. 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. By the 1980s, the Kool-Aid Man had attained pop culture icon status and 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, called The Adventures of Kool-Aid Man. This series for three issues under Marvel Comics from 1983–85 and continued with issues #4-9 under Archie Comics, with art by Dan DeCarlo, from 1987-1990. It featured the Thirsties, a group of anthropomorphic sun-like creatures, as villains. In 1994, the live-action character was retired and from that point until 2008, the character became entirely computer-generated; however, other characters, such as the children, remained live-action. In 1999, singer and voice actor, Frank Simms began voicing the character. In 2009, the live-action character was reintroduced, playing street basketball and battling "Cola" to stay balanced on a log, where he was voiced by Pat Duke. Keith Hudson and Scott Golden voiced the character for a brief period from 2013 to 2015 respectively. In 2016, Brock Powell took over the role and has voiced the character since. From at least 1979 to 1981, the character was known in Canada as Captain Kool-Aid.
American artistDavid 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. The Kool-Aid Man appeared on animated television showsThe Simpsons, Robot Chicken, and Family Guy. He is a playable character in . In May 2016, the Kool-Aid Man appeared in a television commercial for the American insurance company Progressive, voiced by Brock Powell. In 2020, he, alongside Mr. Clean, appeared in a commercial for fellow Kraft Heinz product Planters, shown as an attendee of the funeral of Mr. Peanut. His tears end up causing a new, baby Mr. Peanut to grow from the ground.
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?"
