He watched the original commercial spin off into more and more distant territory. Not much longer would you be mine. And even in the 1990s, Sunmaid was like the "Kleenex" of the raisin industry. 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 . 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! Which meant packers couldn't slap a Dancing Raisin on their packaging or use the characters in ads unless they got their idea approved by the board. And though the process is time-consuming and expensive, Werner's performance managed to win them over. SW: I mean, how did you react when you found out about that?? BK: It actually got to the point where the Dancing Raisins had their own television show. A sequel to the original CBS special aired in 1990 under the title The Raisins: Sold Out! It wasn't at The Fillmore in San Francisco or the Troubadour in LA. Select PayPal Credit to have the option to pay over time. This is Brought to you by Brands you know, stories you don't. Umpteen searches though the archives using the terms "California Raisins" and "Hardee's" came up mostly empty, except for . How is that better than Ray Charles?'. Unlike the smaller brands in the industry, it could afford to pay for that space. Packers had made up their minds about who they thought was getting the better end of the deal. But despite it all, by a very narrow margin, more than half the room voted to greenlight the ad. On the table below them. Director. Heard it! 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. It would go on to produce the Dancing Raisins ad. Losin' you would end my life you see. I'm Charlie Herman. SPEAKER TWELVE: And it was all claymation, and they'd sing Christmas carols and stuff there were I think other characters and things in it as well. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions. But in 1994, the. First of all, you've got that family dynamic. Not so much. Socit en Commandite par Actions Registered Office: 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg). And he says, even though the Dancing Raisins are long gone, he and the rest of the industry are still dealing with the fallout. 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. This figure is also included on CalRaisins.org. He's a reporter covering raisins and grapes for one of the trade magazines his family publishes. Possibly, but in their own sweet, silly way, these spots conveyed a sense of mindless fun and gave the humble raisin its moment in the sun. She would always show them to me and talk to me about them and how cute and clever they were, and I just thought, why in the world is a grown woman so excited about something so ridiculous? And, when it went down, so did the Dancing California Raisins. The claymation raisins singing and dancing to Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" became a kids TV show, recorded an album that went platinum, launched a range of toys and costumes, and starred in an Emmy-winning Christmas special. ROSS VANNELLI: Well how about doing an album? Browse 55 i heard it through the grapevine stock photos and images available, or search for california raisins to find more great stock photos and pictures. And then we threw the baby out with the bathwater. But there's one letter that really stands out: WERNER: Okay, this is from the Fitzgerald-Hartley Company. And he made it very clear to me right off the bat that no one, him included, would be interested in talking about the New York Times story I'd read. 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. The claymation raisins singing and dancing to Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" became a kids TV show, recorded an album that went platinum, launched a range of toys and costumes, and starred in an Emmy-winning Christmas special. Will Vinton told Seth the hardest part was getting his nose right. And the band wasn't playing heavy metal or rock 'n' roll. I mean, we didn't do anything short of that. Our collection database is a work in progress. To access our initial disclosure document, please click, Get the item you ordered or your money back. SW: I was not even alive when most of those ads aired, and I had the same experience. And that might be part of why some raisin packers felt like this all boiled down to: "it's us versus Sunmaid.". Unless you just happened to have a VCR set up and recording at the exact moment the ad aired WERNER: You had to wait and hopefully see it on TV again on some show you were watching and not know when that was coming, and because we didn't have a very big media budget, it wasn't on that often. Can you just give me an assignment? Sunmaid. 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. They help out with keeping prices stable and have an eye on supply and demand. KB: [counts] 350 versus 244. And the California raisin industry is, after all, a big family. The band broke up. I know a man ain't supposed to cry. Like, when Ray Charles had starred in his ad, he agreed to do a cross-country public relations tour, promoting the health and goodness of California raisins. Sarah Wyman is our showrunner. CALRAB gave the "Grapevine" pitch the green light. SW: Big ingredient customers could actually look up in state records how much money, per ton, raisin packers were paying CALRAB. RV: I said, 'I'm going to do it where it feels authentic.' The tape was rewound and the presentation repeated.". In 1987, Vinton featured the Raisins singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in A Claymation Christmas Celebration, a Christmas TV special he produced that won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. SW: Again, Seth Werner, sockless ad copywriter. If there's anything we can do for you, please give me a call'. 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. In fact, the industry was on an upswing. WERNER: 'Dear NBC, After weeks of trying to find out who to congratulate on a recent national ad, I came up with nothing. An article published by AnimateClay.com in the late 2000s details the whereabouts of the original claymation sculptures used by Vinton Studios. THE THROWBACK MACHINE: Going for the gold, but coming up blonde. SW: And that tax is paying for a campaign that's not even advertising your product! Would everyone contribute to the cost of an ad campaign? If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. PDF Sheet Music SW: That's Alvin and the Chipmunks, for those of you aren't fans. Those California Raisins weren't just in California anymore. 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. Unknown; no label specified. SW: This is Seth Werner. [16], In 2002, the Food Network program Unwrapped featured a segment on The California Raisins featuring interviews with Will Vinton, David Altschul, and Mark Gustafson of Vinton Studios. You can have a talking head, you can have a situation' you know, there were like formulas on how to do this. We love hearing from you. But first, he had to get approval from the raisin growers and packers who were paying for it. 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". A California Raisins Fan Club began in 1987, which included a Grapevine Gazette newsletter and various memorabilia. SW: But you know who was on that shelf? And so Will said 'well finally I took Janet's nose and put that on the raisin and he bought it [snaps fingers] like that.'. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. The California Raisins were a fictional R&B group created in the mid-1980s for a commercial produced by the California Raisin Advisory. But Barry Kriebel says, at that point, the actual facts had stopped mattering. The California Dancing Raisins ad has been called one of the best of all time. KALEM BARSERIAN: I've been born, raised here. SPEAKER TEN: We had the Christmas special on videotape, we probably watched it like three or four times a December, between when I was like 4 and 8. https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/34693/The+California+Raisins/I+Heard+It+Through+the+Grapevine. Oh! Werner and his copywriting partner, Dexter Fedor, knew that they needed to make the dried fruit less of an afterthoughtthe raisins needed personality. Kalem Barserian will tell you the ad made the raisin industry money, and he will pull out a calculator to prove it. But an even bigger faction of raisin packers did not have their own name-brands. SW: Seth remembers going to a friend's apartment the night he got the account. In 2018, an episode of The Americans called "Rififi" feature a cereal box featuring the California Raisins on the back. 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. High-top sneakers, sunglasses, and endless swagger. 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. WERNER: Our whole objective was to make them cool. The figures were kept in a box for several years and headed for the trash before being obtained by Webster Colcord, a former employee of Vinton. And the answer is usually 'we don't know.. but probably not.' And since they were already touring the country, at least on TV screens, there was only one logical next step. And they should pretty much be still once they do their heard it! Done. SW: So are the California Raisins coming back, do you thinkthe Dancing California Raisins? BK: No, what we got was him for free, but he wasn't gonna do anything. Fresno is a dusty, medium-sized city in the middle of California's central valley. Go directly to shout page. SW: Seth's boss handed him the California raisins account. KB: Once we started the Dancing Raisins, people were going to the store asking for Dancing Raisin raisins, and there weren't any! brad biggs' 10 thoughts on bears, Margin, more than half the room voted to greenlight the ad made the raisin growers and who. 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