Suicidal Food Weekend - Kool-Aid drink mix, 1950s and 1960s
These ads appeared in this order in LIFE from 1959 to 1969. The first campaign (1959-1961) is especially interesting in how the notes reveal normal situations in which children were apparently expected to act autonomously in this era. I daresay some people now would think some of these parentless moments valid reasons to call social services!
The last two are interesting in that they apparently bookend the era (1964-1969) in which Kool-Aid came pre-artificially-sweetened with cylamate, which fell out of favor and was banned in 1969. The last ad appeared less than two weeks after the ban. I note (as a former marketing major) that General Foods used the common crisis management tactic of underplaying the news of the change...it would have been in bad form to crow in full color about having removed a substance now thought to be dangerous that you'd been feeding the public - and especially small children - for several years.
The last two are interesting in that they apparently bookend the era (1964-1969) in which Kool-Aid came pre-artificially-sweetened with cylamate, which fell out of favor and was banned in 1969. The last ad appeared less than two weeks after the ban. I note (as a former marketing major) that General Foods used the common crisis management tactic of underplaying the news of the change...it would have been in bad form to crow in full color about having removed a substance now thought to be dangerous that you'd been feeding the public - and especially small children - for several years.