Paul McCartney requested his own copy on VHS. Will Vinton. The Hardee's restaurant chain offered these as part of a promotion for its Cinnamon 'N' Raisin biscuits. The 1980's TV commercials for California raisins have been called some of the best ads ever made. SW: Yeah, I'm still looking for the pictures. SW: Those people started calling CALRAB and the ad agency, asking when and where the ad would play again. Blastfrompasttoys. If you have any issues please contact me before leaving negative response I will always do my best make it right! SW: Did it feel at any point while you were working on this album like you were making an ad for raisins? And this is what I told him. Seth and his colleagues were getting fan mail forwarded to themfrom viewers, TV stations, and other advertising execs. I treat my vines as if they were my children. Socit en Commandite par Actions Registered Office: 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg). SW: Even now, decades later when the dust has settled, one thing is still a question. The raisin packers didn't reach this decision because anyone had anything against the ad, or because licensing fees had stopped rolling in, or even because raisin sales were down. Lots of brands tested the limits of this rule, including Sunmaid: BK: I got permission from the manager to create a claymation ad where I had the Dancing Raisins singing to the Sunmaid girl. SW: But, on the other side of the debate, if you ask Barry Kriebel, he'll tell you it is much more complicated than that. And by the end of the night, all anyone could agree on was that one of the siblings was getting a bigger cut than everyone else. How could this ad that on its surface seems like an unmitigated success also have caused all these other problems? I believe it might have been a public service announcement', 'Dear Judy: Generally when you hear from me, a problem is involved. But in 1986, thats just what happened when the California Raisin Advisory Board launched a series of ads by the California Raisins, a group that existed only in Claymation. But these tears I can't hold inside. What's the message? I don't like raisins. Heard it! The face took up most of the raisin's body MB: And then there was little wrinkles here and there, but the more you emphasize that, the more it looked, you know, kind of like a weird prune. Sarah tells us what happened next SW: In 1994, a group of raisin packers voted to shut down CALRAB. WERNER: Our whole objective was to make them cool. Or 'if it's bad for Sunmaid, it's gotta be good for them. It lost message. It wasn't true. SW: The raisins dance around on the lid of his grand piano while he belts out the band's catchphrase: AD SIX: Oh I heard it through the grapevine! Scrobble, find and rediscover music with a Last.fm account, Do you know any background info about this track? Dancing Raisins Heard It Through the Grapevine. You do the math on how many tons of raisins you're buying from them, and bam, you can see exactly how much of the total cost is going towards California raisin ads. He just wanted to make an ad he thought was cool. A series of weather-related disasters during the '70s had thrown the price of raisins completely out of whack. While todays commercials may depict M&Ms and cookies with unique personas, the California Raisins hold a special place as '80s pop culture icons. View wiki Besides appearing in short commercials, The California Raisins shared their musical chops in television specials. Like the whole body was just a head, with arms and legs waving about. And then it clicked on me that it was like, 'oh, this is a real song, like not a California Raisins song.'. Because animators arranged each shot by hand, giving each raisin its own distinct personality (including individualized facial expressions and colorful sunglasses), the commercial took more than a month to shoot. If there's anything we can do for you, please give me a call'. Although Vinton made one last Claymation TV movie about the Raisins in 1990, the end of the '80s brought a decline in the Raisinss popularity. And because they were big companies, not headquartered in the Fresno circle, they were not at the table, and participating in all of this back-and-forth. But there was enough leadership to sway the ones that weren't smart enough to realize what a good program it was. Constitution Avenue, NW SPEAKER ONE: Like obviously, they're raisins, but it just didn't occur to me that like this was a tool to get you to eat like what you see in boxes of raisins. Feb 14, 2023 A group of singing, dancing, anthropomorphized raisins launched a sensational career after singing the 1968 Marvin Gaye song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," in a 1986 commercial for the California Raisin Advisory Board. It even led to an unauthorized collectibles guide published in 1998, cataloging the many items based on the clay characters. This commercial has witimaginationand it was good enough that I went and bought a box of Californian grown raisins.'. I heard it through the grapevine. In 1985, both halves of the industry were funding CALRAB. There were California Raisins lunchboxes, then Hardee's started handing out plastic Raisins figurines with Cinnamon 'n' Raisin biscuits. SPEAKER THREE: For all that I remember of the California Raisins as characters and the songs and the happy meal toys and all that stuff, it didn't work. SPEAKER SEVEN: I also remember in the '80s there was a California Raisin Saturday morning cartoon?SPEAKER EIGHT: I loved the California raisins so much that I went as one for trick-or-treating when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online. SW: Lots of details would have to be worked out first. They all want to have them back [sigh] I don't know if it's just because they love the dancing raisins, or I think more than that, is they just want a powerful campaign, you know, backing up California raisins. SW: Michael Brunsfeld was the commercial animation director at a company called Colossal Pictures, which had been contracted to do a mockup of the ad. They weren't in the shelf. Costume, Occasion & Specialized Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Mobile Phones, Smart Watches, Accessories & Communication, Bathroom Fixtures, Accessories & Supplies, Industrial Printing & Graphic Arts Equipment, Shaving & Hair Removal Products & Equipment, The California Raisi - I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Used Vinyl - E8100A, eBay (UK) Limited is an appointed representative of, Learn more about Product Partnerships Limited - opens in a new window or tab. Vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles. Scrobbling is when Last.fm tracks the music you listen to and automatically adds it to your music profile. For the last 10 years, he's violated the law and gone against the Raisin Administrative Committee. But the Raisinss influence went beyond just TV and music and began to invade all levels of pop culture. We'll do that.'. There was 19 of us at Sunnyside country club sitting in a circle in the main dining room, and we all voted. 80s classic toys. The ads storyboards were pretty simple: A bunch of raisins dance in a line across the screen, grooving to the Motown sound that had been rejuvenated by the success of The Big Chills 6 million-selling soundtrack. Got 100,000 tons, more sales than you would have if you didn't do this. Photo: A Claymation Christmas Celebration / CBS The Raisins Were Featured In Will Vinton's 'Claymation Christmas Celebration' On CBS In 1987 Still one thing nearly everyone does agree on is the mass appeal of the dancing raisins. Really?'. Hey. Ended: 27 Feb, 2023 23:10:08 GMT. And that might be part of why some raisin packers felt like this all boiled down to: "it's us versus Sunmaid.". Jun 1, 2013 - Explore The Goodwill Geek's board "Heard it Through the Grapevine.", followed by 362 people on Pinterest. And since they were already touring the country, at least on TV screens, there was only one logical next step. It's being threatened by growing raisin production in other countries. Here's Sarah again: SW: One morning in 1986, Seth and the team at Foote, Cone, and Belding piled into a car and headed to Fresno. The commercials were produced by Vinton Studios using their claymation technique, with character designs by Michael Brunsfeld. And Seth Seth was dancing all by himself in front of the group, without socks on! All Rights Reserved. We apologize for the interruption. SETH WERNER: It wasn't back then, and it still isn't now. If you would like to know how we handle complaints, please click, . SW: Yeah, that did not go over well within the industry. California Raisins poster vintage 1987 Heard it Through The Grapevine. SW: This process, as you can imagine, took a while. THE THROWBACK MACHINE: Going for the gold, but coming up blonde. HARRY OVERLY: I know for a fact that there is animosity that still exists within the industry of what happened back then. It seems like everyone in Motown heard about this song "through the grapevine" before it was finally recorded. SW: The winning concept was a raisin with big eyes, a defined nose, and a wide mouthperfect for lip syncing. And then we threw the baby out with the bathwater. The California Raisins Original Commercial click to see! It was merely entertaining." SW: CALRAB came up with and promoted new recipes that used raisins, it went to bakery conventions, it pitched raisin stories to food magazines and newspapers. CEO of.. SW: His dad started farming and processing raisins in Fresno back in the 1920s, and since then, Kalem has bounced around pretty much every corner of the industry. In 1985, he was a copywriter at the ad agency Foote, Cone, and Belding. Sunmaid. BK: There's always been a 'If it's good for Sunmaid, it's gotta be bad for them.' Of all the acronyms, there's just one you need to remember: CALRAB. Like that. But despite it all, by a very narrow margin, more than half the room voted to greenlight the ad. These wildly popular clay animation raisins grew into far more than their creators had ever dreamed of. HARDEES AD: Announcing the big plush bendable California Raisins at Hardees SW: There were California Raisins Halloween costumesthey were bestsellers in 1988. SW: In the end, the ad went to air. If you have any issues please contact me before leaving negative response I will always do my best make it right! They were tired of paying into a shared piggybank for the greater good. BK: You gotta have consensus. Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. We may update this record based on further research and review. Your email address will not be published. SW: I was not even alive when most of those ads aired, and I had the same experience. SW: Let me explain. On November 4, 1988, CBS aired a primetime television special called Meet the Raisins! 30 of those and you have a second of the commercial. African American History Curatorial Collective. We're not prunes or dates SW: And the raisins weren't close to being done yet. I was in the room when it got killed! SW: The California raisin industry is complicated. Sales of raisins themselves increased 20 percent after the first commercial. Those California Raisins weren't just in California anymore. Seth Werner and CALRABthe agency responsible for hyping up California raisinsthey had delivered a hit. Very serious-like. Claymation was an unproven conceptthis was probably the first time it had been used in a commercial. But as that money flowed back into CALRAB's coffers, the disagreements became more serious. Merchandise sales included toys and Raisins images on nearly every conceivable medium: lunch boxes, notebooks, clothing, posters, bedsheets, and even a Halloween costume, just to name a few. It wasn't at The Fillmore in San Francisco or the Troubadour in LA. Between 12th and 14th Streets The answer? He watched the original commercial spin off into more and more distant territory. KB: Heard it through the grapevine! Please take time to look at pictures I try and show condition clear as possible. I don't need to prove anything to anybody. Then in 1989, a 13-episode Saturday Morning Cartoon show calledThe California Raisin Show aired. HO: Well there's there's definitely 12:02 some discussion about that I mean in its infancy right now. The Dancing California Raisins were a go. So, growers and packers paid a tax on every ton of raisins they produced. First aired on September 14, 1986, Werner's idea for a 30-second television commercial introduced audiences to The California Raisins, a group of anthropomorphized raisins with expressive. SUNMAID AD: My girl talkin' bout my girl. CH: This episode was reported and produced by Sarah Wyman, with Julia Press and me, Charlie Herman. I voted to kill it too. And as that rift widened, the raisins fell right through it. Which wasn't true. KB: I'll never forget, he was a handsome guy, had white shoes on, no socks, had an earring in this ear, he had the ghetto blaster up on his shoulders, and he turns it on and it's "Heard It Through the Grapevine.". - The California Raisins II. You asked someone to name a raisin brand, and they would say "Sunmaid.". CALRAB gave the "Grapevine" pitch the green light. The California Raisins were the product of an exacerbated ad team, a few broken rules, and the execution of a fascinating visual art form. The plot of the game involved Tiny Goodbite having to rescue his friends who have been kidnapped and held in a cereal factory. But how did a bunch of dried grapes, burdened with the reputationof being a mediocre, boring snack, become synonymous with swagger? Not much longer would you be mine. KB: Couldn't find it! [19], In 2014, the California Raisins made a cameo appearance in the RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "The '80s Called". KB: We're not getting our fair share of it. Required fields are marked *. WERNER: We still thought it was cool. And I told him, all of this sounds absolutely exhausting: KB: I'm still here! The game was completed and several video game critics reviewed it, but it was never released on the open market. Watch the video for I Heard It Through the Grapevine from California Raisins's Sing The Hit Songs for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. KALEM BARSERIAN: I've been born, raised here. Music is from Audio Network. Done. (869) $17.99. He wasn't worried about making the most of this one shot and impressing his boss. Listen to music by California Raisins on Apple Music. And even in the 1990s, Sunmaid was like the "Kleenex" of the raisin industry. I will only talk to you, Will.'. Thanks to everyone who left us voicemails and shared their memories of the California Raisins in our Facebook group. The California Raisins were a fictional R&B group created in the mid-1980s for a commercial produced by the California Raisin Advisory. I mean, we didn't do anything short of that. SW: When the Dancing Raisins ad stopped airing, Sunmaid's share of direct raisin saleslike in boxes on grocery store shelvesactually increased. But in 1994, the. SPEAKER FIVE: They just made raisins and dried fruit in general seem really, really hip. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. And since there wasn't a "Dancing Raisin" brand in the store, small packers worried Sunmaid was getting all the business. So they'd pose them, they'd take a picture of that, then they'd re-pose them slightly in a slightly different pose, take a picture of that. And now they are all I can think about!! If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. He's now on his second round of leading the Raisin Bargaining Association. CH: But while the ad made the dancing California raisins cool did it do anything for actual California raisins? Our collection database is a work in progress. Almost like you can hear the band warming up "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" in the distance. They filed a petition, and that's it! But an even bigger faction of raisin packers did not have their own name-brands. They grow grapes in the beautiful California sunshine and turn them into raisins. If you require a personal response, please use ourContact page. Jackson, who agreed to do his commercial for free (and on the condition that he only work with Vinton, who he knew from their Captain EO project with Disney), helped create his own Claymation raisin with his signature single white glove, fedora, and pelvic-thrusting dance moves. In 2010, claymation versions of the California Raisins were featured in the special Christmas episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "A Very Sunny Christmas". First, they provide tools the industry can use to regulate the raisin market. 2023. I mean. SW: All of those different factors combined add up to the final, and most important challenge for the raisin industry. Strong came up with the idea and asked Motown writers Holland-Dozier-Holland to work on it with him. Kalem Barserian will tell you the ad made the raisin industry money, and he will pull out a calculator to prove it. CALRAB teamed up with advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding to try to forge an emotional connection between consumers and the dried fruit. A Saturday morning cartoon series, The California Raisin Show, debuted the following year, but lasted only 13 episodes. Sheet Music (laughs) That's just the way it is. If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. From Performing Songwriter Issue 111, July/Aug 2008. I don't care how small or whatever, but something that's not part of what you're doing.'. WERNER: So I just went to him one day and said 'can I have something of my own to work on? The California Raisins are a fictional rhythm and blues musical group comprised of anthropomorphized raisins. WERNER: We want sunglasses on them, I want to put them in Converse sneakers, but untie the laces, and they gotta look hip, basically. Artist. To access our initial disclosure document, please click, Get the item you ordered or your money back. It's a tax. SPEAKER FIVE: Every time that commercial would come on, my mom would sing and dance to that song. And on top of everything else, he says there's one subject of conversation that just won't drop. It's that simple. Just to make the ad would cost $300,000. Losin' you would end my life you see. That could mean that while the ad was running, more customers were buying store-brand raisins instead of Sunmaid raisins and store brand raisins were supplied by those other California raisin packers. The 1980's TV commercials for California raisins have been called some of the best ads ever made. A California Raisins Fan Club began in 1987, which included a Grapevine Gazette newsletter and various memorabilia. [14][additional citation(s) needed], On March 28, 1997 Entertainment Weekly published "The 50 Best Commercials of All Time" as its cover story. Between 1987 and 1988, the fictional band released four albums, two of which went platinum. The comedy podcast Felix Navipod features discussion of the California Raisins on all 166 episodes of its run. Can you just give me an assignment? But Michael Jackson, well he was not about that. SW: Almost as soon as it disbanded CALRAB, the raisin industry got to work developing another agency to take its place. And on top of that, there have been many, many more lawsuits. The band broke up. Go directly to shout page. I mean, you can imagine that! He has faith in the industry's ability to work this out. CALRAB and the commercials it paid for represented the entire industry. With a budget in hand, the agency hired Will Vinton, the Oscar-winning animator who would later trademark the term "Claymation," to help create their vision of dancing raisins. Heard it, heard it! SW: That is exactly what I wanted to find out. Javascript is required to view shouts on this page. Almost all the growers in the room were against it. WERNER: Uh yeah, it was probably a little bit of a shock, I guess. They're just a staple. Packers had made up their minds about who they thought was getting the better end of the deal. It had sold more than 500,000 copies. The "Heard It Through the Grapevine" theme is fabulous. Refresh your browser window to try again. "The Raisins opened up a floodgate everything had to be personified," Vinton told Food & Winelast year. The California Raisins, Michael Jackson, and more Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Official Music Video) Creedence Clearwater Revival 36M views some 80s music. RV: Oh no, to me it at one point it kind of went beyond that. SW: Ross Vannelli is a music producer. But back in 1994, almost ten years after the first dancing raisins ad aired, that good feeling was nowhere to be found. Harry Overly became the new president of Sunmaid in 2017. SW: Kalem was voting on behalf of the packer he worked for. Oh I'm just about to lose my mind. SW: That's another thing that makes the raisin industry different. If you require a personal response, please use ourContact page.