# Kool-Aid and black culture...am I totally out of the loop? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 19, 2002, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891 "2002-07-19T23:19:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/41 "2002-07-23T16:42:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mouthbreather \* > \*\* > > I’m not trying to jump on your case here, this is an honest question. Do you automatically assume any time you see a black family in a commercial that the product or idea they are selling isn’t for you? Seems kinda odd… \*\* I’m not in advertising, so I may be talking out of my bum here, but I thought that query might be just the kind of marketing strategy that would make advertisers target different audiences. I think people buy products they can visualize themselves using, and when you actually see someone who looks like you using a certain product you may be more inclined to purchase it. It’s the same principle behind attempts to cast multi-ethnic films and television programs. You’ll watch if you identify. Perhaps the operating logic is that if “real world” black families see commercial black families putting fruit in their Kool-Aid, then the “real world” families will purchase Kool-Aid and do the same. But I have no explanation for why putting fruit in Kool-Aid would be advertised in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/42 "2002-07-23T17:24:39Z")
They still make koolaid? ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/43 "2002-07-23T18:42:30Z")
I thought it was funny when the Sloman Shield home security company made the same exact commercial twice, once with a white family, and once with a black family. The lines were exactly the same, the members (mother, father, daughter, and son) were exactly the same… but the white family had a dog, and the black family had a cat, leading me to conclude that all white people are dog persons and all black people are cat persons, without any exceptions whatsoever! I just feel bad for the hispanic and Asian families that didn’t get their own Sloman commercials, making it clear that Sloman is in no way interested in having their business, without any exceptions whatsoever! Plus, it would have been interesting to see what pets **all** hispanic and Asian families have. I can’t remember the last time I saw a Kool-Aid commercial with white people in it. However, I have seen the floating fruit ones referred to in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/44 "2002-07-23T19:03:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > > Yes, when similar ads for the same product have a single cruical difference. ALL the black family ads feature fruited Kool Aid, ALL the white family ads feature fruitless Kool Aid. What is this fruit/no-fruit distinction that Kool Aid is making? > > Fenris \*\* How many different commercials are we talking about? I assumed it was one black fruit kool aid (band name, or new flavor?) commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/45 "2002-07-23T19:06:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FNRFR \* > **…Plus, it would have been interesting to see what pets _all_ hispanic and Asian families have.** Everybody knows that all Hispanic families keep ferrets (they used to keep dogs until the gringos co-opted that particular animal) and Asians keep goldfish. Now that the joke is over, I must regretfully point out that your attempt at _reductio ad absurdum_ (latin for “weight-loss advertisements are absurd”) doesn’t work because your conclusion doesn’t follow logically from what the OP was asking. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/46 "2002-07-23T19:09:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beeblebrox \* > \*\*But **astro** , aren’t most of the people in the DeBeers ads just shadows? Kind of hard to tell the race there. At any rate, the company is Dutch and there aren’t a lot of black people in the Netherlands anyway. Maybe they just re-dub the Dutch ads for the US market. > \*\* I think DeBeers is South African in origin. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/47 "2002-07-23T19:36:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*I think DeBeers is South African in origin. \*\* I’ll be, you’re right. I could of sworn it was Dutch. Must have been all those Amsterdam scenes in “Diamonds are Forever”. note to self: James Bond flicks are not reliable sources of information. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/48 "2002-07-23T19:37:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chef Troy \* > \*\*Now that the joke is over, I must regretfully point out that your attempt at _reductio ad absurdum_ (latin for “weight-loss advertisements are absurd”) doesn’t work because your conclusion doesn’t follow logically from what the OP was asking. \*\* Who said I was striving for logical consistency? This is MPSIMS, not great debates:p The subject matter of the thread reminded me of the commercials that I thought were quite funny. Given a couple of these posts concerning fruit or no fruit, target audiences, etc., I was reminded of the Sloman’s commercials with the two identical families, different only in skin color and choice of family pet. You’re reading a bit too much into my moment of levity. As such, I must regretfully point out that I wasn’t attempting to do anything but joke around. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/49 "2002-07-23T19:49:29Z")
FWIW, it’s **Slomin’s** … ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891/50 "2002-07-23T20:24:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*FWIW, it’s **Slomin’s** … \*\* oops:confused: _checks Slom **i** n’s web page_ I’ve seen those commercials hundreds of times and never noticed the spelling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kool-aid-and-black-culture-am-i-totally-out-of-the-loop/119891.md?page=2)