Everyone knows the famous Kool-Aid drink packets. Purplesaurus Rex, Cherry, Berry Blue, etc, etc. But drink packets aren’t the only thing Kool-Aid made. There is a plethora of items made under the Kool-Aid banner trying to capitalize on the popularity of one Mr Man (Kool-Aid Man).

Here are 11 items made under the Kool-Aid brand that you may not have known existed.

Kool-Aid Man comic books – Kool-Aid and Marvel Comics collaborated on issues #1, #2 and #3 of The Adventures of Kool-Aid Man comic book.  Archie Comics then published issues #4 and #5.  Several of these issues were given out free in a mail away premium, and several issues were also available in stores.  You might think it would be difficult to come up with engaging stories involving a talking pitcher of Kool-Aid quenching the thirsts of little children, and you would be mostly right.  However, the stories were zany and mostly entertaining, considering the entire comic is an advertisement for drink mix.

Kool-Aid Man video game – Yes, there was a video game based on Kool-Aid Man.  It was released for the Atari 2600, Intellivision and Sears video game systems.  The ad and box above are for the Intellivision version.  Here is the box for the Atari 2600 version.  If you really want to understand the meaning of the word tedious, then download a ROM of this game and play it.

Kool-Aid bottled drinks – For a while back in the 50s and 60s, Kool-Aid offered their flavors pre-mixed in glass bottles.  I’m not sure if they were carbonated or not, but I don’t believe so.

Kool-Aid Kool Pumps – This was a fast food promotion with Burger King.  The “push-up” style sherbert bars were flavored with the elusive Sharkleberry Fin.  Matt talked about them on X-Entertainment a while back.

Kool-Aid Kid’s Trivia Game – From 1985. This actually existed.  It played like Trivial Pursuit, but I would hope the questions dealt with more than just Kool-Aid.  How many questions can there be about Kool-Aid?

Kool-Aid Kool Pops – These are the regular Kool-Aid Popsicles. If I’m not mistaken, these are still on sale, but they are really hard to find. At least where I am.

Kool-Aid Slushies – These were offered in the 90s and were pretty awesome.  Slushy mixes that came in three flavors; Lemon Ice, Ice Blue and Cherry Freeze.  Goes perfect with your favorite alcohol.  Let the Kool-Aid Man get you hammered tonight.

Kool-Aid Ice Cream Mix – This is interesting.  Kool-Aid Mix specifically for flavoring ice cream.  You probably could just do this with regular Kool-Aid.  In fact, this is probably just regular Kool-Aid powder rebranded with the Ice Cream Mix logo.  Very clever.

Kool-Aid Fruit-Ts – Kool-Aid made flavored teas back in the 90s.  An interesting concept that didn’t take off like they had hoped. Pictured are the three flavors offered; Wildberry, Strawberry and Lemonade.

Kool-Aid Sno-Cone Machine – Everyone and everything gets a Sno-Cone machine at some point.  I’m sure if you look hard enough you’ll see a Golden Girls Sno-Cone Machine.  You can thank Snoopy for that.  I think this may still be offered, but it’s now called the Kool-Aid Freeze Factory.

Kool-Aid shoes by Reebok – In 2008 Reebok released a line of shoes inspired by Kool-Aid flavors and Kool-Aid Man.  You can still buy these shoes. Check out SneakerFiles.com for pics of all the different shoes offered.

Back in the ’80s and ’90s, mail away premiums were all the rage. Being a comic book reader, I saw ads for thousands of mail away products amid the pages of my favorite books like The Flash and X-Men. One of the more prominent mail away deals was for the Kool-Aid Wacky Warehouse. You would collect points off the labels of Kool-Aid packets and cans and submit them for free stuff (paying postage, of course). It’s much like the rewards programs for hotels and airlines today. The more you use or buy their services, the more points you get and the more stuff that translates into.

Seeing the ads in comic books, I was amazed at all the cool stuff.  T-shirts, cassette players, hats, nerf basketball sets, etc.  These awesome items were dancing across the page with giant words screaming FREE STUFF!!!!  Here are two full page ads advertising the Wacky Warehouse (click images to make bigger).

The ad on the left is themed towards the Kool-Aid flavor, Sharkleberry Fin (Greatest. Kool-Aid. Name. EVER.).  You can see the awesome shark mascot (with sunglasses!) for Sharkleberry Fin in the upper right.  In the ad to the right, the items are themed more for the Purplesaurus Rex flavor.  As you can see, there are tons of cool swag to be had just for drinking your favorite Kool-Aid flavors, clipping the points and sending them in with like 5 bucks in postage. Here’s the Wacky Warehouse order form that goes with the above ads.

Being a Kool-Aid enthusiast, I have come across a bunch of this swag so I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of this cool stuff the Wacky Warehouse was offering.  Some of it is, in fact, cool.  Some of it, not so much. Here are some of the fun items kids could send away for with Kool-Aid points.

Super Jump Rope – I’m not entirely sure what makes this jump rope so “super”.  It actually looks like a pair of Kool-Aid themed nunchuks.  The red handles would mask the blood stains of your Kool-Aid Death Match victims.

Wacky Kid’s Canteen – Very goofy looking canteen that kids could carry around with them on their “adventures”. I’m assuming “The Warehouse” wanted it to be filled with Kool-Aid.  When did Kool-Aid Man start wearing glasses?

Pitcher and cup sets – Kool-Aid offered these items throughout the Wacky Warehouse promotion. Plastic cups and a pitcher with the Kool-Aid Man face on them.  The set would be colored differently depending on what Kool-Aid flavor they would currently be promoting. This particular set is red for Rock-A-Dile Red. If you look in the Wacky Warehouse forms at the top of this article you can see pitcher and cup sets colored blue for Berry Blue and purple for Purplesaurus Rex.

Dancin’ Kool-Aid Man – Motorized, battery powered “dancing” Kool-Aid Man. Lots of fun at parties. Just flip his switch and he’ll “get his groove on” until the batteries wear down.  It even played music.  I believe you could also set it to “sound activated” so it danced to music you played.  Pretty sophisticated piece of machinery.  It probably cost 80 kagillion points, though.

Wacky Drink Packet Holder – A holder for your drink packets. Place 10 or 12 packets in here and sit them on your kitchen counter so they will always be handy because we all know it’s too much of a pain in the ass to OPEN THE PANTRY DOOR you lazy SOB.

Kool-Aid Kid dolls – At first, these look like Cabbage Patch Kids, which I guess they are a rip off of that idea, but the dolls themselves look more like the Campbell Kids dolls (ie, creepy as hell).  I don’t believe these were exclusive to the Wacky Warehouse.  I’m pretty sure you could also buy these in retail stores.

Wacky Warehouse Barbie – This little bit of corporate synergy happened for several years in the ’90s. Kool-Aid got Mattel to brand a limited edition Barbie with the Kool-Aid logo.  Some of these were offered to Wacky Warehouse members, while an even smaller amount were offered at certain retail locations.  Maybe even as a Mattel mail away.

Hot Wheels Wacky Warehouse Hiway Hauler – More corporate cross branding with Mattel. Hot Wheels offered several different types of vehicles with the Kool-Aid logo including Jeeps, Corvettes and race cars.  The Hiway Hauler you see here was the one generally offered to the Wacky Warehouse public.

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I created this around the time Superman Returns was released in theaters. If this seems familiar, it was mentioned in an earlier article on this blog.

Check out my other Kool-Aid creations here.

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Here’s another creation from the PaxNet Kool-Aid labs. You may be thinking, “Pax, why the hell did you pick Windex?” Well, it wasn’t just a random, out-of-my-ass creation. It does have a history, though. Check it:

Kool-Aid’s Berry Blue was introduced in the late ’80s. There was a huge media blitz and push for the flavor. Pretty soon parents started complaining that the flavor looked too much like windshield wiper fluid and/or Windex. They were afraid that kids would be confused and mistake the two. Apparently these parents keep their wiper fluid and Windex in the fridge next to the juice. WTF?! So, according to urban legend, Kool-Aid pulled the flavor in order to avoid massive lawsuits from crazy-ass parents.

Well, Berry Blue is back and you can buy it in stores. Let me tell you, it is tasty…and BLUE. Like really blue. Radiation blue. It’s almost scary.

I thought I would create the flavor Kool-Aid almost did, but didn’t.

And there was much rejoicing.

Check out all my other creative, and completely made up, Kool-Aid creations here.

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The newest flavor…and most fun. Next to Vanilla Ice, this is my favorite creation. How cool would it be to sit down with a bowl of chips and salsa and down glass or two (or pitcher) of this sweet nectar of the gods? Mucho cool, mi amigo.

As far as Mexican beer goes, I prefer Corona Light or Pacifico, but you get the idea. Kool-Aid ain’t just for snotty noses any more. Arriba!!

Check out all my other creative, and completely made up, Kool-Aid creations here.

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