Kool-Aid Man crashes into mobile screens on Cameo video platform

Brief:

Kool-Aid, the brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz, last week became the first brand to show its mascot on Cameo, the video-sharing website that sells personalized video messages from celebrities. To celebrate National Kool-Aid Day on Aug. 9, the brand gave 50 fans a chance to receive custom cameos from Kool-Aid Man, the mascot known for bursting through walls in TV commercials, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
The brand used Cameo to enlist performers including Flavor Flav, Raven-Symoné, Ryan Cabrera and Ginger Minj to create a jingle that features them singing "Oh, Yeah!," a reference to Kool-Aid Man's classic catchphrase.
The video racked up 2.8 million views on Kool-Aid's Twitter account as of the morning of Aug. 12. The full song is available to download from SoundCloud. National Kool-Aid Day is observed annually on the second Friday of August.

Insight:

Kool-Aid's campaign for the annual food holiday marks the first time the brand has worked with Cameo, the startup that lets people pay for personalized shoutouts from celebrities. The giveaway of Kool-Aid Man cameos aims to reach younger mobile consumers as Cameo begins to grow in popularity among Gen Zers.

OoooOooOOoo yeaaaah! ???????? #KoolAidDay #OhYeahAnthem #WorldDebut #FullSong: https://t.co/9sv5MmAWQm pic.twitter.com/R0HOFKOak5
— Kool-Aid (@koolaid) August 9, 2019

The startup has grown to more than 300,000 video requests from 18,000 notable people worldwide, per its announcement shared with Mobile Marketer. People pay anywhere from $5 to $3,000 for scripted messages from some of their favorite celebrities through Cameo, which fulfills about 2,000 requests a day as of June, TechCrunch reported.

Kool-Aid's new mobile-based promotion aims to reach younger consumers who are more likely than older generations to consume video content on smartphones. The brand last year promoted the launch of a carbonated drink aimed at older kids and teens with a campaign on Snapchat and Giphy.

While Kool-Aid ranks in the top 50 for brand awareness, its recent marketing efforts have sought to modernize the iconic beverage brand that's often associated with the summer season. People drink about 563 million gallons of Kool-Aid every year, with about 225 million gallons consumed during summer months.