KOOL-AID

Kool-Aid wasn’t subtle. The colors were loud, the flavors were loud, and a giant pitcher appearing at a birthday party meant somebody was about to pour cups for the entire room. Unlike the single-serve lunchbox contenders, Kool-Aid has the big-batch memory: summer afternoons, sleepovers, cookouts and whatever flavor somebody’s family always kept around. That makes it dangerous because voters aren’t just defending a drink—they’re defending their version of it. Capri Sun vs. Kool-Aid is pouch against pitcher, while Hawaiian Punch vs. Kool-Aid turns into a full fruit-punch civil war. Which childhood drink are you pouring when the giant pitcher comes out?