The Last Pre-Sweetened Days of Summer

Labor Day is over but Summer still has a while to go, seeing as the season actually ends on September 21. To celebrate these waining days of sun and fun, here is some Kool-Aid. More specifically, these are packets of pre-sweetned Kool-Aid boasting Bugs Bunny engaged in all kinds of fun activities, accompanied by an icy pitcher (the smiling Kool-Aid man pitcher pitch-character). It was a real coup for Kool-Aid to sign such a big cartoon star to endorse their drink mix; Bugs exclusively promoted the then-new pre-sweetened version of the long-popular Kool-Aid, and the art on these packets is so well drawn, beautifully capturing Bugs' personality in these different situations. Bugs also appeared in animated Kool-Aid commercials in which he wasn't necessarily drawn as well. You can find out more about the animated Bugs Bunny Kool-Aid commercials at this edition of Animation Anecdotes on Cartoon Research by animation historian Jim Korkis. In fact, Jim writes about all kinds of fun animation facts each and every Friday. Don't miss Jim's fascinating weekly column at Cartoon Research.