Kool-Aid Recasts Its Mascot

I guess we can all forget about “yo mama so fat” jokes involving Kool-Aid as the punchline, because the Kraft beverage brand has just given its portly mascot a makeover.

With the help of Saatchi & Saatchi New York and VSA Partners of Chicago, Kool-Aid has made its red Kool-Aid Man, who’s been around since 1954, completely computer generated. He’s now slimmer and has a new average-Joe voice. The brand is moving the mascot from his original bursting through walls to come to the rescue of thirsty kids with his chain-smoking voice “Oh yeah!” tagline, to make him more of an everyday guy who is just doing his job of getting Kool-Aid to people. Kool-Aid man 2.0 is something of a man about town. He gets dressed for the day by picking what flavor Kool-Aid to put in his pitcher body, he talks to himself in the mirror before going off for the day and offering Kool-Aid to ladies at the park, according to the new spots. Just an all-around nice pitcher of Kool-Aid who is aware that he is a talking pitcher of Kool-Aid who still can’t fit through doorways. Such is life.

Brand mascots, while once a huge part of what carried brands and their image, have fallen to the side in the digital age. Brands who want to modernize their mascots have put them on social media, like Mr. Clean on Twitter, or have made them actual people, like the Wendy’s girl who now appears as an actual girl in TV spots.

This image makeover is all part of the brand’s campaign for its new sugar-free liquid drink mix. The brand has also created a new Facebook page dedicated to the new Kool-Aid Man, which has only been up for two days and already has 60,929 likes.

According to the brand it will be realeasing a new Android- and iOS-enabled Kool-Aid Man PhotoBomb mobile app, which will enable users to add different images of Kool-Aid Man into their own photos.

Let’s just see how long it takes for the Kool-Aid Man to start tweeting about exercise and fashion tips and whatever other random stuff he feels like along with the rest of the brand mascots.