In the ‘what will they think of next’ category comes an alliance inspired by Superbowl New England Patriots’ Laurence Maroney, known as Kool-Aid since childhood, teaming the retro favorite kids drink with fruit juicy scented sneakers and all the requisite “promo stuff” therein (beach towels, pitchers, smiley tees).
“The second-year running back rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown, helping the Patriots wear down the Chargers, 21-12, to earn a berth in Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants,” but alas…we know where that landed…a sad day here for all of our New England Pats family fans chompin’ quahogs and ‘chowdah’ in Rhode Island.
Being the mom of an athlete, my first take on Kool-Aid Man’s scent-infused sockliners was, “fun! hey, olfactory pleasures in scratch-n-sniff mode, trendy gimmick, no big deal.”
Seconds later, I jumped to, “$50-$75 for the sneakers and $28-$65 for the accessories, okay we’re crazy-talking; especially scaling to MEN’s sizes, what’s up with that?” Followed promptly by, “Some kids have NO shoes, and we’re pumpin’ out rainbow scented sneakers? No wonder the world hates us…” On to, “Wonder what kind of blight on the environment these caused?”
Finally, circling back to, “Yeah, well, at least Kool-Aid isn’t contributing to the obesity problem as much anymore, since they’ve adapted their product with Splenda and received the ADA/Diabetic Choices sanctioning.” See? We parents aren’t killjoys…we drank the Kool-Aid…
Although…the fact you can ‘dye yarn’ with the stuff is quite disconcerting, eh?
Kool-Aid Shirts and sneaks, first round debut: February 1st, the Grape, Strawberry and Cherry flavors will be available in stores across the U.S. along with the coordinating accessories, hoodies, t-shirts and hats. The final installment of the collection drops in April with three additional flavors: Lemonade, Lemon-Lime and Orange.
Blogosphere Banter: Random Remarks -n- Buzz
“hated on said: am December 13 2007 @ 8:51 am
DEezNutz23, LMAO.
i bet reebok is hitting up Popeyes next. their whole hip hop campaign failed for them so now they are doing every stereotype of black folks”
“They should make a Ritz pack for all you crackers out there!!! lol”
“Not news to me, I placed the order for my store over a month ago. First shipment will go out April 1st 2008. The other color of shoes not pictured is bright orange. They will also be releasing some fantastic tees and hoodies to go with the fitted caps. Also shoes will be made in all white with the same bright colors on the reebok stripes and outsole.”
One of the T-shirts has the kool aid man with “OH YEAH” text.”
She Knows Best: Lifestyle Tips for Guys: Reebok is Kickin’ It With Kool-Aid
Reebok X Kool-Aid: High Snobiety, The Complete Line Up
The Shoe Game: Retro B&W Video of Original Kool-Aid Classic
So….would you buy ’em???
Tangerine…lemon…whatevah??? Will kids go ga-ga? Or find them to be ‘too cool for school’ …??
Are marketing folks ‘trying too hard?’
For me it mostly serves as a media literacy lesson to teach about celebrity tie-ins and gimmicks…Though there’s irony in the fact that something finally looks like ‘cheerful kids wear’ …which means some will avoid them for that reason alone…
Meanwhile, mens’ sizes? Either supersized tennies or adults longing to turn back the clock, as kids eager to be adults switch places in ‘grass is always greener’ mode…lime green, that is.
They remind me of the big “cereal” brand push of the early ’00s… when Lucky Charms t-shirts were cool, and Trix made toaster machines. There was a whole shop dedicated to the trend in Minnesota’s Mall of A-mecca.
They’re unique enough for pippy longstocking folks to toss into their already “innovative” attire. I’d wear the orange ones if they were free… and people would think its a great idea (with legwarmers)… but to buy? Meh. I wouldn’t indulge, but I’d walk around with them pretending I would.
As for youth, or non silly fashionistas, I dunno. I just dunno.
How goes it, Amy?!
I’m not a big brand person my self, nor do I go for the big gimmicks (and thankfully my son doesn’t either) so…nope I’m not into shellin’ out the money for that kind of thing.