Kraft Aims Kool-Aid Ads at Growing Hispanic Market; It Appears No One Told Them About Horchata and Tampico
By ONANTZIN News
2011-05-30
Los Angeles, CA -- In yet another example of American Companies' greed and ignorance towards Hispanics, Kool-Aid announced that it had allocated the majority of its 2011 marketing budget to reach Hispanics. It appears no one told them that Hispanics already have their own versions of Kool-Aid, called Horchata and Tampico, which they drink at home, in restaurants, at family gatherings, randomly, for no reason whatsoever, and in the case of Horchata, even at some bars as a mixed drink.
The ad campaign, which is certain to be a waste of money, shows what can happen when companies get too greedy with the growing Hispanic population and rush into it, forgetting to do their research first. Television commercials already airing on Univision and Telemundo feature a Spanish speaking Kool-Aid man telling a young Hispanic kid in very poor Spanish: "Toma, Guey! … OHH YEEAAAHHHHH ". He means to say "Drink up, dude", but in their haste, they translated the words carelessly.
"When they figure out the obscene nature of the language in the commercial, they'll throw the Kool-Aid man back into Hispanic Slang 101, but they can't do anything to chip away at the popularity of Horchata, Tampico, or other Aguas with Hispanics", said Alvaro Carrillo, an avid drinker of Horchata and Agua de Jamaica.
In a survey conducted on the streets of Los Angeles, Hispanics gave Kool-Aid points for trying, but said the brand joined the market too late and would be better off investing its ad money into an Horchata flavored Kool-Aid drink. Also, in response to the question of what drinks they would prefer over "culey" - as they called it - the majority chose the following: Horchata, Jamaica, Agua de Melon, Agua de Piña, Agua de Limon, Agua de Tamarindo, Agua de Fresa, Jarritos(Mandarina), Jarritos(Tamarindo), Coke, 7 Up, Sprite, Beer, Tampico, Tang, and then maybe Kool-Aid.