You're making us put up $32.50 for generic advertising, and Sunmaid's getting the benefit of it. But as that money flowed back into CALRAB's coffers, the disagreements became more serious. He wrote to Foot Cone and Belding specifically requesting a VHS copy of the ad so he could watch it whenever he wanted to. They all watched as Seth walked in and took the floor. Done. Today, it would go viral. The commercials were produced by Vinton Studios using their claymation technique, with character designs by Michael Brunsfeld. 2023. But anyway, there's this one line in the story that implies that even though the ad went on to be super successful, even though you and I still remember it all these years later, it may have precipitated some really huge divisions within the raisin industry. Just one piece! Start the wiki. KALEM BARSERIAN: I've been born, raised here. California Raisins Heard it Through the Grapevine (Better Quality) Herozilla Video Editing and Livestream Gaming 82.3K subscribers Subscribe 10K Share 983K views 3 years ago I don't own the. Very serious-like. And the US, by the way, is the second largest raisin producer in the entire world. And they were hearing from those ingredient customers that they had an issue with the ads: BK: Some large customers felt they were paying for it. https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/34693/The+California+Raisins/I+Heard+It+Through+the+Grapevine. On the table below them. And the California raisin industry is, after all, a big family. WERNER: Our whole objective was to make them cool. AD FIVE: Honey, are you playing with your food again? Sunmaid. 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. 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. 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. 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. I says, 'in Canada? As for the music, the commercial featured Buddy Miles, a Carlos Santana collaborator and drummer for Jimi Hendrix, singing "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"picked because of the obvious connection between grapes and raisins, but also because the song had seen a resurgence after the Marvin Gaye version had been used for the opening scene of the 1983 hit movie The Big Chill. Definitely [both laugh]. Like, who was allowed to borrow the actual dancing raisins costume CALRAB had? My girl!BK: Yeeeeah the marketing guys at Del Monte filed a complaint with the Department of Food and Agriculture over it. Sunmaid. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. 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! Check mate. And then it clicked on me that it was like, 'oh, this is a real song, like not a California Raisins song.'. I Heard It Through the Grapevine features a clip the movie The Big Chill where a group of teenagers in a library who are listening to the song through headphones which leads them to dance . SW: Within a month of its release, the album went gold. Is it that people remember it? MM: Obviously raisin growers and packers, they compete with each other. And though the process is time-consuming and expensive, Werner's performance managed to win them over. Unlike the smaller brands in the industry, it could afford to pay for that space. And I told him, all of this sounds absolutely exhausting: KB: I'm still here! 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 dancing raisins got caught in the crossfire of a heated debate within the industry. Vintage California Raisins Posable, Puppets, Bank, Wind up toy. The community that created them, and the questions they left in their wake. But these tears I can't hold inside. Oh I'm just about to lose my mind. By the time "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" hit #1, the song had been sitting there for more than two years. (of Suite D2 Josephs Well, Hanover Walk, Leeds LS3 1AB) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (with firm reference number 626349). Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online. 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. Listen on:Apple Podcasts |Stitcher | Spotify |and more. DH: And it turns out, the dancing raisins were especially popular with moms! The success of the dancing raisins exposed fractures in the industry which had been forming just under the surface for decades. But in 1994, the raisin industry abruptly pulled the plug on the ad and its spinoffs, and still debates whether or not it was successful. It lost message. High-top sneakers, sunglasses, and endless swagger. CEO of the wine bargaining association for five years. [19], In 2014, the California Raisins made a cameo appearance in the RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "The '80s Called". Perhaps the most memorable piece of California Raisins merchandise, however, came in the form of small, non-poseable California Raisins figures. Earlier this year, the CRMBwhich did not respond to my request for commenthired a brand new Vice President of Marketing. The California Raisins released four studio albums on Priority Records, BMG, and ZTT Records between 1987 to 1994, and their signature song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 84 or 85. SW: Kalem says the vote on whether or not to approve the ad was extremely close. Jun 1, 2013 - Explore The Goodwill Geek's board "Heard it Through the Grapevine.", followed by 362 people on Pinterest. AD TWO: We know raisins are natural, but kids just know what they like. And as that rift widened, the raisins fell right through it. 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. "Picture cover". They were tired of paying into a shared piggybank for the greater good. Go directly to shout page. SPEAKER SIX: They were an incredible Motown band.SPEAKER ONE: I thought they were a real band, and really did not connect them to like raisins, or like the idea of dried grapes until well into my adulthood. SPEAKER FIVE: They just made raisins and dried fruit in general seem really, really hip. SW: That is exactly what I wanted to find out. CH: A warship, the USS Pyro, even asked permission to sail with a California Dancing Raisins flag flying high above ahoy mateys! Blastfrompasttoys. Needless to say, their band history borrowed heavily from the types of origin stories real bands tended to have. Think you know music? RV: And I set it up in the studio exactly how like an old Motown session would be. If you require a personal response, please use ourContact page. McCartney. Michael Jackson asked to be featured in a sequel. He's a reporter covering raisins and grapes for one of the trade magazines his family publishes. 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. And maybe some people are pessimistic about it, I don't know, maybe people are tired of just the lack of unity. But thanks to the California Raisins, its now commonplace to see ads that include anthropomorphized food or candy. And on top of that, there have been many, many more lawsuits. KB: Grape and raisin grower. On November 4, 1988, CBS aired a primetime television special called Meet the Raisins! Honey, honey yeah. It seems like everyone in Motown heard about this song "through the grapevine" before it was finally recorded. The California Raisins were a fictional R&B group created in the mid-1980s for a commercial produced by the California Raisin Advisory. 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. While the songs popularized the phrase, they inspired the hit kids cartoon series "The California Raisins" in the 1990s. Paul McCartney requested his own copy on VHS. ROSS VANNELLI: Well how about doing an album? He says if it had just been up to him, he would not have ended CALRAB and therefore the Dancing Raisins. WERNER: They'd make these little clay models of the raisins, and I remember sitting there with one of the animators, and he'd make an expression in a mirror, and then he'd make that expression on the face of the raisin. CALRAB, the organization who made the campaign, was also closed on July 31, 1994, due to disagreements with raisin producers over the fairness of required payments to the organization. Instead, it was a group of tiny, claymation raisins playing a Motown hit in a national ad campaign. The industry is in talks about a new campaign to promote California raisins. But that wasn't the story around town. 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. The California Raisins Original Commercial click to see! The California Raisins released four studio albums on Priority Records, BMG, and ZTT Records between 1987 to 1994, and their signature song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 84 or 85. While the vines may feel special to their growerslike children!to you and me? And so he says, 'Ok fine. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. The growers are the ones with the vines. 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. And, I didn't know this, but nearly 100 percent of the raisins the U.S. produces come from within a 60 mile radius of the city. They weren't in the shelf. How would the assessment be collected? Paul McCartney requested his own copy on VHS. The comedy podcast Felix Navipod features discussion of the California Raisins on all 166 episodes of its run. 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.'. KB: Couldn't find it! In 1985, both halves of the industry were funding CALRAB. SW: Buddy Miles, who'd been the drummer for Band of Gypsies with Jimi Hendrix, flew to California to record the vocals in Ross's studio. If you would like to know how we handle complaints, please click, . THE THROWBACK MACHINE: Going for the gold, but coming up blonde. Barrett Strong was the singer. Would everyone contribute to the cost of an ad campaign? I voted to kill it too. In order to be successful, this big "family" has to work together. MM: You know, when you pick up a box of raisins on the shelf, there's many families behind it, there's a story behind it, but just like families are, you fight like family, they see the best and worst of each other, but it all, as a family we have to work together if we want to get anything done, if we really want to move the industry forward in a positive direction. I will only talk to you, Will.'. Most of the time when we buy raisins, we have no idea where they came from. 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. KB: And at this point, even though I had to vote to kill it, I side on the other side, where I helped put that program together, and was successful for ten years. This is Brought to you by Brands you know, stories you don't. WERNER: Well, you know, we were at this point, we were like what else is new. 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. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100. These days, some growers are abandoning ship entirely, ripping out their vineyards and planting almonds instead. The musical mockumentary was again created by Vinton Studios, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. 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. SW: Remember, these were Fresno guys, not big city ad men. Almost all the growers in the room were against it. Got 100,000 tons, more sales than you would have if you didn't do this. There it is. Unknown; no label specified. SW: The winning concept was a raisin with big eyes, a defined nose, and a wide mouthperfect for lip syncing. It keeps you in shape. There was 19 of us at Sunnyside country club sitting in a circle in the main dining room, and we all voted. Vinton and his team spent weeks making about six different figurines and a set made out of clay. Please take time to look at pictures I try and show condition clear as possible. The classic about a man who finds out his woman is cheating on him was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. It would go on to produce the Dancing Raisins ad. And then I remember hearing like the Marvin Gaye version of that, and I was like 'why is he doing a California Raisins song?' Leave a message at (646) 768-4777, or email us at btyb@insider.com. AD ONE: Lay some happiness on me, give me raisins and I'll be. The California Raisins are often accompanied by a soundtrack of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," originally popularized by singer Marvin Gaye. Your email address will not be published. Raisins, dressed up in white gloves and sunglasses, dancing to Marvin Gaye's "I heard it through the grapevine." We may update this record based on further research and review. SW: For the packers who did have their own brands and worried Sunmaid was running away with raisin sales, there was another issue. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online. It had sold more than 500,000 copies. Of all the acronyms, there's just one you need to remember: CALRAB. We apologize for the interruption. And a lot people, including many of our listeners, still remember it really well. SW: Matthew Malcolm was one of the first raisin industry members to return my calls. The California Raisins II is a 1990 claymation television special directed by Will Vinton, featuring the advertising characters The California Raisins. Potato head, but a raisin. CALRAB and the commercials it paid for represented the entire industry. SW: Again, Seth Werner, sockless ad copywriter. SW: All of those different factors combined add up to the final, and most important challenge for the raisin industry. 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. Now, the story of a man many call an outlaw. Almost all the packers resented Sunmaid, but not all for the same reasons. Socit en Commandite par Actions Registered Office: 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg). And the answer is usually 'we don't know.. but probably not.' And most of the people spending millions of dollars don't want to know there are two guys sitting in a back room trying to make each other laugh and come up with this stuff, but that is what we did. This special saw the Raisins hiring a new manager with the goal of making a comeback. Note: This transcript may contain errors. The article ranked The California Raisins' premiere advertisement, "Lunchbox", at #15 with comments by ad agency executive Claude Jacques and described the Raisins as "The coolest wrinkled musicians this side of the Stones. Oh, that's sweet. And then they called me and they said, 'you know what it's platinum in Canada too!' Hey Sarah. KB: Vine doesn't know who it belongs to. How is that better than Ray Charles?'. Brought to you by is a production of Insider Audio. TikTok video from Shug (@sonyastanford2). Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. SW: I mean, how did you react when you found out about that?? 30 of those and you have a second of the commercial. SW: This is Seth Werner. They filed a petition, and that's it! You got 100,000 tons. HARRY OVERLY: I know for a fact that there is animosity that still exists within the industry of what happened back then. 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