After years of crashing through walls to bring children cherry refreshment, the Kool-Aid man needs new sneaks. The tried and true juice drink partners with the time-tested Reebok brand to revive its message. The co-branded marketing promotion, Instant Classics, kicks off in Reebok’s ’08 Spring collection.
Other than color-by-flavor and ‘ice cube’ rubber soles, the common thread between these two hangs on nothing more than a few puns about ‘flavor’. Nonetheless, the two classics pimped out the Pro-Legacy basketball low-top for the big promotion. The Kool-aid Reebok Collection falls in line with ultra-saturated color palettes debuting in urban shoe wear designs of the last year. Reebok Director of Lifestyle Design, Benjamin Kuchler, takes the line one step further with the inclusion of t-shirts, hoodies and hats in every flavor SKU. The complimentary apparel pieces also follow in suit, tagged with the smiling, pitcher-pouring Kool-aid man.
In an attempt to make the collaboration really hang together, all sneaks come with scent-infused sock liners. The fruit-scented sneaks are only offered in toddler, pre-school, grade-school and men’s sizes, excluding women from the strawberry sweetness.
The collection ranges from $50-$75 and can be purchased at undergroundstation.com or select Reebok retailers nationwide. Grape, strawberry and cherry launched 2/1. Orange, lemon and lime hit stores 3/15.
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you guys are joking with this right? how is this worthy of psfk or even this shittiest, hype loving, man child supporting streetwear blog? at least have an opinion when you present us with something as lame as this.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
The shoes may look ridiculous, but I have no doubt they’ll sell. Why? Take a look at what people are wearing on the street: tacky allover print hoodies, garish vintage jerseys, tshirts silkscreened with characters from crappy, old television shows. i think the co-branding of Kool-aid and Reebok says something about the essence of fashion trends , at least on the street. Streetwear is not about aesthetics or function or classiness; it’s about brands and the capacity to capture a sentiment – like nostalgia (something Reebok and Kool-Aid undoubtedly conjure).
February 7th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Hey Michael, there’s a full refund at reception…
February 7th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
How cool is that! I see this exploding in the urban market in 08. I wish others saw the cool niche and worthiness of an informative article about a company trying to evolve their brand. Way to think out of the box Kool-Aid. I think Michael just got laid off, he’s pissed at the world.
February 8th, 2008 at 10:45 am
seriously?
February 9th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
did you miss the reebok-play doh kicks? my kid has them and they rock. they even came with two mini cans of play doh in the box.
February 10th, 2008 at 8:05 am
U all r flippin insane! They’re just fuckn shoes!
February 15th, 2008 at 5:00 am
I think they are great! Kool-Aid man rocks
February 20th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
DESE SHOES ARE DA SHIT N I IS GONNA BUY EM TRUST AND BELIEVE EVERY COLOR I GET MY HANDS ON IMA BUY DIS KOOLAID DA KID AKA THE MIDWEST SOULJAH CHECK OUT MY MYSPACE FO MY ABLUMS N CONCERTS http://www.myspace.com/koolaiddakid CHEA BOUT TIME DA GOT KOOLAID SHOES N IMA GET FUCK WHAT DA HATAS TALKIN BOUT DIS NIGGA BUYIN EM CHEA!
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 am
This is a natural, while true Ghetto Punch is just water and sugar, Kool-Aid is a staple in working class and or urban households. This is a roots thing, a nod to the past that’s been recontextualized. Plus it’s funny as hell.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 am
im actually really upset at the response these shoes are getting.virtually everyone ive talked to about has had nothing but a diss to hand me and its really abunch of rubbish. first off a diss to the shoes, the shoe makers, the marketers, and most of the the wearer of these kicks is all wrong. the idea is genius! we live in a day where the past seems to fade more and more everyday, where a good memory of our child hood is almost as hard to remember as your entire families social security numbers. kool aid was a part of most american middle class kids lives, and as an adult, the smell, the sugar, the package, all have a tendency to take me back to those days running in the house thristy from intense games of hide and seek, needing a quick delicious thirst quencer, where mom met me with a glass of red kool aid. Not strawberry, or cherry, there was no time for names, just red. ha. we cant be kids again, we cant relive it or go back, but we can remember it, and if my kicks on my feet can take me back than why would that deserve a diss? besides the childhood aspect these shoes appeal to most of the basic audiences specific desire, their favorite color! where most peoples favorite colors usually fall at, Red,Blue,Purple,Greeen etc. its genius. also in a day in age where were more inclined to fall in line and look like the rest, those of us who see the beauty in these kicks, are those who refuse this line, beauty is in the eye of these beholders. all they see is the color and unique ness. and the more the world hates them the more were inclined to want every color. these shoes are for the non followers, for those who truely do what and wear what ever they want. not whats in style. these shoes say alot, but everyone is to busy talking bad about em to hear what they have to say.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:30 pm
to all the haters, get over yourselves. you’re all the same buttholes that probably followed every trend growing up (sucking your thumb with a Care Bear in one hand and a Cabbage Patch Kid in the other) and now project your own self-loathing on everyone else ’cause you know you want some strawberry reeboks! losers…
March 8th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Please contact me when you get a chance. thank you
March 14th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
what about reebok x watermelon?
why don’t they do reebok x cheese line?
how about reebok x baby mommas
oh oh oh reebok x food stamps
these are racist and so fresh that you guys think its awesome.
one more reebok x crack!
now that would sell!!!
I know for a fact that only 4 black people work at reebok. and none of them design these.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Quote
“Take a look at what people are wearing on the street: tacky allover print hoodies, garish vintage jerseys, tshirts silkscreened with characters from crappy, old television shows. i think the co-branding of Kool-aid and Reebok says something about the essence of fashion trends , at least on the street.”
I dont know if this thread is open or not but anyways, you have a point. but at the same time reebok should focus on the shoes that look or sell better, not experiment with some type of tacky, even poor looking shoes. Here’s a great example of a good looking shoe from reebok http://www.onlineshoes.com/productpage.asp?gen=m&pcid=100350&adtrack=nextag&term=men%27s+reebok+classic+amaze+zing%2dsport%2dstarcrest&offer=#
anyways think about what other people would say if you bought them, you probably already guessed it: a class A dumbass
April 7th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
while dont you sell the kool-aid shoes preschool age 13
April 13th, 2008 at 3:14 pm