Well July is slowly reaching its end but the weather continues to be hot and sticky in one part of the country or other. Growing up there was a simple solution to quenching your thirst. And no, it did not involve grabbing the 2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola from the pantry. It involved a jar, wooden spoon, some sugar, water and ice, and a packet (yeah you read right, packet!) of some flavored substance: KOOL-AID!
Kool-Aid started off with just six original flavors: Cherry, Grape, Lemon-Lime, Orange, Raspberry, and Strawberry. As the decades rolled through, more mixed flavors were introduced and revolutionized the brand to fit with the changing times. Every afternoon was filled with anticipation to make a fresh jar of Kool-Aid with a different flavor. Oh and let someone in the house discover an empty jar left in the refrigerator. There would be hell to pay for the person that drank the last cup of Kool-Aid. Depending on the household, fights would even break out.
Kool-Aid is one of those products that you can't help but associated with a childhood memory. Whether you helped your mom or grandmother mix the Kool-Aid and serve it, or had a Dixie-cup full after the little league game, Kool-Aid has been part of your life. There were also the creative Kool-Aid inventions. Who else made popsicle sticks with different flavors? (*raises hand*). If anything has changed over the years with Kool-Aid is the advertising. Gone are the days of the creative commercials with the clever jingles. Now all we see are magazine advertisements like the shot below.
Well for #ThrowbackThursday, Stay Tuned has decided to revisit those vintage commercials that aired weekday afternoons after school and Saturday mornings during cartoons. Some have songs and others don't but we have chosen a wide selection to jog those memories. And no matter how much has changed since we were kids, we all have a soft spot for Kool-Aid.
We'll kick off with this 1950s commercial. The kids whistling and walking is something straight out of Children of the Corn but it has that song and dance advertising magic.
The 1960s started incorporating well-known pop culture icons of the time. This commercial features Bugs Bunny and The Monkees (sans Peter Tork who left the band), who were riding high off their successful music and television careers.
Around the same time, this commercial was released for The Bugs Bunny Show, which probably leads us to believe was the basis of the phrase "Who spiked the Kool-Aid?"
The 1970s commercials tried to bring a little humor for the kiddos, and even highlighted the age of neighborhood garage bands.
We can't even begin to explain this next video. How did two kids become prisoners on a pirate ship? Where are these kids parents? Nice message Kool-Aid.
Not to sound biased but the best Kool-Aid commercials have to be from the 1980s. The improvement of video and technology provided better quality commercials and with the bright colors of the '80s and making everything "Big," they became more memorable.
We didn't know what was more disturbing about this next video. The fact that it features a pre-Growing Pains Kirk Cameron, or that the kids worked up a massive sweat in the span of a minute as Mom made the Kool-Aid.
This video is from the early '80s and we were left wondering what in the hell are these kids doing at a castle with two knights.
When was the last time you played roller hockey? Yeah, we couldn't remember either.
The author of this next video expressed it best, this one is whacked out!
This video is just 0:31 seconds of Surfin' Berry meth. Period.
We love this video just for the fact that the saxophone beat reminds us of 'Soul Glo'
Then the 1990s arrived and creativity just went downhill.
They ended up doing commercials with just parents reminiscing about drinking Kool-Aid. This video features Papa Walsh from Beverly Hills, 90210.
And then they tried to incorporate hip-hop into the fold.
Finally, we've arrived to the present day Kool-Aid commercial. What can we say? We absolutely love the "jug" life!
Well we've had a blast throwing it back to Kool-Aid in its heyday and Stay Tuned would like to thank our good buddy Gene Patrick Smith for giving us the inspiration to make this a #ThrowbackThursday topic.
What were some of the commercials or memories you had of Kool-Aid growing up? Share with us below and remember to keep it locked to Stay Tuned for future updates on anything and everything TV!
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