WERNER: We went there because we had to meet the growers, and so we would drive, what was it, an hour, 90 minutes to Fresno from San Francisco, and the account people were all nervous on the way there like 'what are we going to do?'. Lead vocals in the group were sung by musician Buddy Miles. And then on top of that, this article also made mention of a raisin mafia, along with allegations of death threats!? Almost across the board, everyone I spoke to had good things to say about the ad itself. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100. These wildly popular clay animation raisins grew into far more than their creators had ever dreamed of. SW: That's Alvin and the Chipmunks, for those of you aren't fans. A short time after that, he sat in a studio and sang the words into a microphone while strumming his guitar along with a few friends. He watched the original commercial spin off into more and more distant territory. (laughs). A sequel to the original CBS special aired in 1990 under the title The Raisins: Sold Out! The concept was originally created by advertising firm Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) for a 1986 Sun-Maid commercial on behalf of the California Raisin Advisory Board when one of the writers, Seth Werner (at the time with FCB in San Francisco) came up with an idea for the new raisin commercial, saying, "We have tried everything but dancing raisins singing 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine'" (the 1968 song popularized by Marvin Gaye). A California Raisins Fan Club began in 1987, which included a Grapevine Gazette newsletter and various memorabilia. WERNER: 'Our thanks again on behalf of Paul McCartney. Scientists mull polarized light detection from alien life-forms, Nano-mechanical sensors wired using photonics, E. coli outbreak leads to massive flour recall, First human CRISPR trial passes safety and ethics review, Cephalopods: Natures camouflaging masters, Scientists detect gravitational waves for the second time, Colorful secrets of chemical elements with slow motion flames. MICHAEL BRUNSFELD: The first step in this was we need somebody to create some raisins that are going to dance around. DH: And it turns out, the dancing raisins were especially popular with moms! You know how families can be about money. But in 1986, that's just what happened when the California Raisin Advisory Board launched a series of ads by the California Raisins, a group that existed only in . America's favorite raisin. The Raisins released numerous studio albums in the 1980s, starred in a cartoon series, and were nominated for an Emmy for their 1988 "Meet the Raisins" mockumentary. Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use), African American History Curatorial Collective. Oh I heard it through the grapevine. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider It was the sequel to the Emmy-nominated special Meet the Raisins! Like, growing up, we had this little figurine in our doll house, and my parents dressed up as them one year for Halloween. But Barry Kriebel says, at that point, the actual facts had stopped mattering. SW: And that tax is paying for a campaign that's not even advertising your product! SW: That's another thing that makes the raisin industry different. 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 eyebrows, stylish shoes, and the slickest dance moves since the Chiquita Banana shimmied into advertising in the 1940s. So you really had to be in the right place at the right time just to see it, and then when you saw it, you weren't quite sure what that was, but it was different than everything else you saw, and people started just saying 'what was that?'. People loved the singing, dancing Claymation raisins so much that more commercials followed, andin a marketing scheme that was virtually unheard of at the timeThe California Raisins went on to release four albums, score a Billboard Hot 100 hit, and earn an Emmy nomination (and appear in an Emmy-winning show). SPEAKER ONE: It was like a Mr. But I think we're heading in a positive direction now. I said, 'Ok, that's one piece of the marketing puzzle. I said, 'the only thing I would do, because at that time, you know, you had things like the Chipmunks and all these different things for kids,'. But I also take the approach of, that was 30 years ago so I think it's time that we look forward because the industry is in a very dramatic, very drastically different place than it was back then. But that little piece of fruit is anything but dry and boring. And on top of that, there have been many, many more lawsuits. And the industry was coming out of a big slump at the time. I voted to kill it too. We may update this record based on further research and review. He's now on his second round of leading the Raisin Bargaining Association. The comedy podcast Felix Navipod features discussion of the California Raisins on all 166 episodes of its run. Lead vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles. Definitely [both laugh]. Sarah Wyman is our showrunner. It keeps you in shape. WERNER: My job, I called it jack of all trade. You're over. I will only talk to you, Will.'. Not this time, however! Playlist, Written by: Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Lyrics Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore. Your email address will not be published. These albums were included in the Smithsonian collection and were illustrated and art-directed by Helane Freeman, who later became famous for her work on Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, among other Disney programs. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. The California Raisins were the product of an exacerbated ad team, a few broken rules, and the execution of a fascinating visual art form. If you have any issues please contact me before leaving negative response I will always do my best make it right! If you have any issues please contact me before leaving negative response I will always do my best make it right! In The Simpsons episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season", The California Raisins were spoofed as The California Prunes, on a special entitled Christmas with the California Prunes. First of all, you've got that family dynamic. How would the assessment be collected? Colossal issued a challenge to some of its animators: BRUNSFELD: How can you make a raisin look appealing? Vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles. Some years later, Noel Gallagher stands on a stage strumming his guitar while . MM: At every industry meeting I go to, it seems like someone's asking, some raisin grower's asking 'are you ever going to bring the raisin, dancing raisins back?' Honey, honey yeah. Sales of raisins themselves increased 20 percent after the first commercial. AD THREE: Raisins from California. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. By the time "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" hit #1, the song had been sitting there for more than two years. Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine. From Performing Songwriter Issue 111, July/Aug 2008. CH: After the break, five million dollars DOES go a long way, the Dancing California Raisins conga line their way to record deals and awards, and they split the raisin industry right down the middle. BK: If you're one of the largest ingredient buyers for bread or cereal or something, then really you're paying for it, right? ", In 2017, an episode of The Simpsons called "The Cad and the Hat" included a couch gag segment featuring the California Raisins being killed by Homer.[21]. SW: Even now, decades later when the dust has settled, one thing is still a question. If you saw a commercial you liked, you couldn't look it up on YouTube and send a link to a friend. Characters Steve and Roger go into a mall representing 1980s culture where they meet the Raisins who proclaim that they are "cursed to live forever. Start the wiki. SW: Michael Jackson sent Will Vinton a video with instructions for how he wanted the claymation to lookdown to the motions and facial expressions the backup raisins were making in the background of the ad. 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. They even earned an Emmy nomination! They were the California Raisins. Who'd have ever thought that a beloved Motown classic would be brought back to life by a bunch of animated dried fruit? They have two big jobs. This client had been with his agency for over a decade, and though they'd had some fairly successful campaigns in the past, the client's main product was slipping in sales. Because the smaller packers still thought Sunmaid had an unfair advantage. [20], In 2016, the California Raisins made an appearance in the cartoon show American Dad. The show would have animated raisins acting as rockstars, and the song, "I heard it through the grapevine," was the California Raisins number-one single. 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. With the musicians all in a room, live, everything. 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. KB: Couldn't find it! SETH WERNER: It wasn't back then, and it still isn't now. Oh! Photo: A Claymation Christmas Celebration / CBS The Raisins Were Featured In Will Vinton's 'Claymation Christmas Celebration' On CBS In 1987 But Michael Jackson, well he was not about that. Strong came up with the idea and asked Motown writers Holland-Dozier-Holland to work on it with him. What's the whole campaign? It taxed both growers and packers. I heard it through the grapevine. Qualifying purchases could enjoy 0% interest if paid in full in 4 months on purchases of 99+. Your email address will not be published. In 1985, both halves of the industry were funding CALRAB. Seth and his colleagues were getting fan mail forwarded to themfrom viewers, TV stations, and other advertising execs. He's a reporter covering raisins and grapes for one of the trade magazines his family publishes. They all watched as Seth walked in and took the floor. Whod have ever thought that a beloved Motown classic would be brought back to life by a bunch of animated dried fruit? 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. See more ideas about california raisins, raisin, grape vines. CH: A warship, the USS Pyro, even asked permission to sail with a California Dancing Raisins flag flying high above ahoy mateys! SW: Matthew Malcolm was one of the first raisin industry members to return my calls. The California Raisin Advisory Board. But back in 1994, almost ten years after the first dancing raisins ad aired, that good feeling was nowhere to be found. On the table below them. More than 2 million people bought their albums and listened to the Raisins covering songs including "Lean on Me" and "You Cant Hurry Love." KB: Heard it through the grapevine! Raisins, dressed up in white gloves and sunglasses, dancing to Marvin Gaye's "I heard it through the grapevine." Post's Raisin Bran cereal took advantage of the increasingly popular dried fruit and teamed up with the Raisins to help promote their boxed cereal, and fast food chain Hardees bought a license to produce the incredibly popular collectible Raisins figurines. Of all the acronyms, there's just one you need to remember: CALRAB. And they should pretty much be still once they do their heard it! If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions. And then we threw the baby out with the bathwater. [9] Blackthorne Publishing also released a six-issue comic book series entitled The California Raisins 3-D which included 3D glasses; these would later be re-released in the Ultimate Collection trade paperback. KB: Because a raisin is a raisin is a raisin. (laughs). And, when it went down, so did the Dancing California Raisins. 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. Artist. And maybe some people are pessimistic about it, I don't know, maybe people are tired of just the lack of unity. KB: Vine doesn't know who it belongs to. And because Sunmaid was so much biggerthe Kleenex of raisins!they suspected that brand was getting a bigger share of the sales that had trickled down from the ad. 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! SW: Big ingredient customers could actually look up in state records how much money, per ton, raisin packers were paying CALRAB. Little disagreements surfaced. Was the Dancing Raisins ad a success? Jun 1, 2013 - Explore The Goodwill Geek's board "Heard it Through the Grapevine.", followed by 362 people on Pinterest. They help out with keeping prices stable and have an eye on supply and demand. SW: He just turned 82, and for the last few decades, he's been privy to almost every dispute in raisin land, and lots of them have landed on his desk. So Fresno is like Eden for raisins. Instead, it was a group of tiny, claymation raisins playing a Motown hit in a national ad campaign. 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